Govt exploring all options to meet energy demand- Hardeep Puri

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hasthe government will explore all possible options to meet the country's energy demand in view of the Ukraine crisis and Covid-19 pandemic. Replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Puri said, the government has contacted Russian federation and discussion is underway over several issues. On the petroleum prices, the Minister said, prices of petrol and diesel have been determined by several international and national factors. He said the Centre has taken steps to bring down the prices of petrol and diesel by reducing excise duty in November last to provide relief to the consumers. He said, nine states have not brought down duties levied on petrol and diesel. Giving the comparative data of various countries, the Minister said, prices of petrol and diesel have increased marginally in India in comparison to prices raised in various countries including USA, Canada, Germany, UK, France in the recent times. 

Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan assured that the education of students evacuated from war-torn Ukraine will be taken care of by the Government. Replying to the question raised in Lok Sabha by Gaurav Gogoi from Congress on Monday, the minister said that evacuating Indian students from Ukraine is a testimony of the collective wisdom of 130 crore Indians and their future will be taken care of. The DMK member T R Balu thanked Prime Minster for initiating Operation Ganga that helped rescue Tamilnadu students. He sought the Central Government's help in continuing the education of such students who have returned from Ukraine.

India's defence expenditure has witnessed a continuous increase over the last five years. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said, a budget estimate of over five lakh 25 thousand crore rupees has been earmarked for the defence expenditure in the financial year 2022-23 which was over three lakh 79 thousand crore in the financial year 2017-18. Replying to another query, the Minister said, expenditure of over three lakh 86 thousand crore rupees were incurred on indigenous procurement of defence equipment by the defence forces for modernization in the last eight years.