New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday chaired the fifth meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers to review the existing risks to energy supply chains and domestic availability of essential commodities in the wake of the conflict in West Asia.​

“The government, under the leadership of PM Modi, has been working to ensure uninterrupted supplies of essential goods across the country,” the minister said in a post on X.​

Singh urged people to remain calm and avoid panic, saying the government is taking concrete steps to prevent shortages or disruptions in supply chains.​

Retail prices for petrol and diesel remain unchanged despite the global spike in oil prices, and adequate stocks of the two fuels are available at all petrol pumps of public sector oil companies, including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, across the country, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.​

All refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories, while sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are being maintained. Local Liquefied Petroleum Gas production from refineries has been increased to support domestic consumption, the statement added.​

Meanwhile, the public sector oil companies have been distributing around 50 lakh domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders every day to maintain normal supplies of cooking fuel, and no dry-outs have been reported at retail distributorships despite the disruptions due to the Middle East crisis.​

Online bookings for cooking gas have risen to 99 per cent, the statement said.​

As much as 95 per cent of Liquefied Petroleum Gas deliveries are based on authentication codes sent to consumers’ registered mobile numbers to prevent diversion at the distributor level.​

Small 5 kg Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders used by migrant labourers are also being sold by the oil companies. Since April 3, public sector oil companies have organised more than 10,700 camps to increase awareness about the small cylinders.​

About 6.5 lakh Piped Natural Gas connections have been gasified, and infrastructure has been created for an additional 2.66 lakh connections, taking the total to 9.16 lakh connections. Further, about 7.08 lakh customers have been registered for new connections.​

Enforcement action continues across the country to curb hoarding and black marketing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas. More than 2,000 raids are being conducted across the country every day.​

Public sector oil companies have strengthened and continued surprise inspections and imposed penalties on 378 Liquefied Petroleum Gas distributorships, while 76 Liquefied Petroleum Gas distributorships had been suspended till last week.​

–IANS

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