On Tuesday, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the country’s cooking gas supply is being maintained stable by supplying families with the entire 25% increase in domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) output.
While addressing the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman brought attention to the fact that over 65% of India’s LPG needs are fulfilled through imports, with roughly 90% of those shipments traversing the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. According to her, there is no energy crisis in the country and the government is making sure that fuel supplies are uninterrupted, even when there are geopolitical issues in West Asia.
Domestic refineries have ramped up production to compensate for import problems, as reported by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. According to the ministry, they are keeping a careful eye on the LPG supply and have not heard of any “dry-outs” at distributor shops nationwide.
To further combat the diversion of LPG cylinders, the government has increased the coverage of the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC) system from 53% before to the crisis to around 72%. Additionally, the percentage of LPG cylinders booked online has jumped from 84% to nearly 90%, allowing for more organised delivery to customers.
The MT Shivalik and the MT Nanda Devi, two LPG carriers flying the Indian flag, recently traversed the Strait of Hormuz and arrived in India with a combined cargo of around 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG. To guarantee prompt unloading and maintain energy supply continuity, major ports have been told to prioritise berthing for LPG shipments.
The larger economic outlook was highlighted by Sitharaman’s statement that India’s economy is resilient despite the war in the Middle East. She went on to say that in order to spur economic growth and create jobs, the government has boosted funding for infrastructure projects, including as roads, ports, and trains, to ₹12.2 lakh crore.
