Govt assures uninterrupted fuel supply

The Government is making all efforts to ensure a smooth supply of petroleum products within the country. Addressing the Inter-Ministerial Briefing in New Delhi on Monday on recent developments in West Asia, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma said that refinery production of LPG in the country has been increased to 50 thousand tonnes per day. The Joint Secretary said that over eight lakh PNG connections have been gasified since March, adding that infrastructure has been created for two lakh eighty seven thousand connections. The Joint Secretary also highlighted that in the last four days around one crore seventy two lakh domestic LPG cylinders were delivered in the country. She added that OTP-based deliveries have increased to more than 95 percent. She said that since the start of this month, around one lakh 56 thousand tonnes of commercial LPG were sold, while over 24 thousand tonnes of commercial LPG were sold in the last four days. The Joint Secretary further noted that over one lakh ninety six thousand 5 kg cylinders were sold in the last four days. She underlined that citizens must refrain from panic buying and adopt alternative sources of fuel.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Indian embassies and consulates are in touch with the Indian diaspora for their well-being. Jaiswal said that the Ministry is extending all possible help to its seafaring community which is in large numbers in the Gulf region. Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates, Jaiswal said that several key agreements were signed which have given a boost to India’s energy security.
Additional Secretary of the Department of Fertilizers, Aparna Sharma said that the overall stock position of fertilizers in the country remains comfortable. She informed that against the annual assessment of more than 390 lakh metric tonnes, the available stock currently stands at over two hundred lakh metric tonnes. The Additional Secretary noted that this number stands as more than 51 percent and significantly higher than the usual level of 33 percent. Ms Sharma added that after the crisis has been substantial, a total of domestic production of fertilizers has strengthened availability with around 95 lakh metric tonnes produced within the country. She highlighted that imports of fertilizers have also stood at more than 22 lakh metric tonnes so far, taking the total addition to over 117 lakh metric tonnes.
She further said that the country has already secured 13 lakh 50 thousand metric tons of Diammonium phosphate and 9 lakh metric tonnes of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium complexes to  ensure adequate supplies during the peak Kharif season. The Additional Secretary noted that the availability of raw materials and finished fertilizers is being reviewed regularly and described the overall situation as stable and well managed.