NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday played down the energy crisis in the country triggered by the ongoing conflict between thejoint forces of United States and Israel with Iran. While addressing the NXT Summit, the Prime Minister indirectly targeted those who are “trying to create panic” and claimed that, by doing so, they are exposing themselves in front of the public.“We will have to make collective efforts, keeping the national interest supreme and fulfilling our duties. Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about LPG. There are some people who are trying to create panic. They want to push their own agenda,” PM Modi said. “At this time, I do not wish to make political comments on them. But I will certainly say that by doing so, they are not only exposing themselves in front of the public but also causing great harm to the country,” he added.The Prime Minister said that the government has prioritised self-reliance in the energy sector to ensure that the country doesn’t have to rely solely on foreign sources for energy.“To ensure we don’t have to rely solely on foreign sources for energy, emphasis was placed on self-reliance in the energy sector. Until 2014, there were only 14 crore LPG connections in the country. Today, there are more than double that—33 crore household LPG connections. In 2014, there were only 4 LNG terminals in the country,” PM Modi said.“Today, their number has also doubled. Today, no country is untouched by the impact of this global crisis that has arrived. In lesser or greater measure, everyone is a victim of this crisis. India too is leaving no stone unturned to deal with this crisis,” he added.The Prime Minister also said the government is making every possible effort to ensure that the burden of situations arising from war does not fall on the citizens of India.“The Government of India has always made every possible effort to ensure that the burden of situations arising from war does not fall on the citizens of India,” he said.“This time too, we will make every possible effort to ensure that the war has the least possible impact on the lives of the country’s farmers and the citizens of the country,” he added.Fears of LPG shortage began spreading across the country as the escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupts global energy supply chains.The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian retaliation against US–Israel strikes has triggered panic buying, long queues at LPG agencies and petrol pumps, and forced restaurants and small businesses to switch to alternative cooking methods.With certain measures helping raise domestic LPG production by 28 per cent and some alternative sources being tapped overseas, the government has decided to allow some sale of commercial LPG to meet a fifth of the demand, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Oil Ministry, said.“The state governments will have to identify the beneficiaries,” she said.As panic buying escalates, the government has extended the LPG refill ordering window for rural users to 45 days, up from 25 days set last week for all users, which itself had replaced the previous 21-day limit. The move aims to manage demand and ensure equitable distribution amid the ongoing energy supply disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis, she said.The increase in the monthly quota of kerosene released to states is the first in more than a decade and temporarily reverses the government’s stated objective of phasing out the fuel, which, besides being heavily subsidised, was also used for adulteration in petrol.
