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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 2, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security late Wednesday to review the government's measures amid the war in West Asia. Modi discussed interventions for sectors including agriculture, fertilisers, shipping, aviation, logistics and micro-small and medium enterprises to mitigate the emerging challenges. 

 

Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, also present at the meeting, briefed about the steps taken to ensure the supply of petroleum products, particularly liquefied natural gas and piped natural gas, and sufficient power availability. "Sources are being diversified for procurement of LPG with new inflows from different countries. Similarly, LNG is being sourced from different countries. He further briefed that LPG prices for domestic consumers have remained the same and anti-diversion enforcement to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG is being conducted regularly," the government mentioned in a release.

 

Amid the supply chain disruption due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, the price of Brent Crude has jumped 44% to over $100 a barrel since the conflict broke out on Feb. 28. Meanwhile, the government has

cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by INR 10 per litre to offset under-recoveries by the oil marketing companies and ensure they continue sourcing crude oil and maintain domestic fuel supply without raising retail prices. The government has also capped the price hike on aviation turbine fuel by oil marketing companies at 25% for airlines operating domestic routes.

 

The government is taking steps to maintain urea production to ensure fertiliser supply. "State governments are being requested to curb black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of fertilisers through daily monitoring, raids, and strict action," the release said. Modi assessed the availability of critical needs for the common-man. He discussed the availability of fertilisers in the country and steps being taken to ensure its availability in the kharif and rabi seasons. 

 

The government has set up control rooms for constant monitoring and interaction with state governments on prices and enforcement of the Essential Commodities Act. The prices of agricultural products, vegetables and fruits are being monitored," the release said. "The retail prices of food commodities have been stable over the past one month," it added. 

 

The prime minister directed all concerned departments to take all possible measures to ameliorate the problems of citizens and sectors affected by the ongoing global situation. He also emphasised on smooth flow of authentic information to the public to prevent misinformation and rumour mongering.  End

 

US$1 = INR 93.20

 

Reported by Krity Ambey

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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