Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to assess the situation in India amid the over four-month long conflict in West Asia and stressed on making the country's energy sector 'atmanirbhar' (self-reliant).
This was the fourth CCS meeting chaired by the prime minister on the West Asia conflict.
During the meeting, PM Modi called for a unified and coordinated mechanism to monitor all the developments to ensure that the interests of Indian nationals are protected. He also reiterated that a mechanism needs to be established to provide timely information, emergency assistance and counselling to families of Indian seafarers.
PM Modi was also briefed by Cabinet Secretary Dr TV Somanathan about the current situation, who spoke about the steps taken till now to ensure the adequate supply of petroleum products in India, including LNG, LPG and fertilisers. He noted that India has diversified sources for procurement of LPG and its stocks remain adequate.
"Availability of adequate crude oil has enabled Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) refineries to operate at utilisation levels exceeding 100%, ensuring continued production of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.
The CCS was also briefed about how initiatives were taken to expand Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections. Besides, the government is also facilitating industrial substitution of LPG through expansion of the National Gas Grid. The CCS also held discussions over India's requirement of fertilisers for the Rabi season and the situation of Indian seafarers.
"Prime Minister directed to establish a mechanism to provide timely information, emergency assistance and counselling to seafarers and their families. Prime Minister said that all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens as well as the Indian Diaspora from the impact of this conflict," the PMO said.
"Prime Minister said that a whole of government approach be continued to be adopted to tackle the challenges arising due to the crisis. He said that a unified coordinated mechanism be put in place for regular monitoring of all the developments to ensure expeditious implementation of appropriate measures to safeguard the interests of the citizens," it added.
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