New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Top government officials including the Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the Power Secretary, and the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) held a meeting on Friday to discuss ways to increase the domestic production of induction heaters and cooking utensils to bring down the use of cooking gas consumption amid supply chain disruptions due to the Iran war, according to official sources.

Demand for induction heaters and other electrical products has increased significantly since the West Asia crisis began. If the war continues for several months, India must be prepared to deal with potential challenges, a senior official said.

The meeting held to review the situation comes as authorities prepare for a prolonged conflict and assess the impact of the disruptions in the imports of oil, gas and petrochemical products. The government has already reduced import duties on several petrochemical products to address supply concerns and ease cost pressures.

According to sources, the government’s focus is on ensuring the availability of key products and reducing dependence on imports amid the global uncertainties that have arisen in the wake of the Middle East conflict.

Damage to key energy infrastructure, including a major liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar, has increased the uncertainty over oil imports from the Middle East, which have been hit due to the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world’s energy supply transits.

India has diversified its oil imports and is buying more crude from Russia and African countries such as Nigeria and Angola to fill the gap in imports. Indian oil companies are also sourcing gas from the US.

Meanwhile, there is more uncertainty over the conflict in the Middle East as US President Donald Trump said in a nationwide address on Thursday that the US military would hit Iran “extremely hard” for the next two or three weeks. He said the US would “bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong”.

Hours later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded on X, saying: “There was no oil or gas being pumped in the Middle East back then”.

Trump has repeated the threat as the conflict entered its second month and US military deployments in the region continued. Iran has also rejected reports of ceasefire discussions and a proposed 15-point peace plan, calling it “extremely maximalist and unreasonable.”

–IANS

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