NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review India’s preparedness amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, directing officials that "all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens from the impact of this conflict."
The second such review in recent days held at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg focused on mitigating disruptions across key sectors, including energy, agriculture, shipping, aviation, logistics and MSMEs.
The government assessed supply chains and explored contingency measures to ensure stability in essential commodities and services. Supply diversification for LPG and LNG, fuel duty reduction and power sector measures were reviewed to ensure stability of essential supplies.
A key focus area was energy security. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan briefed the meeting about the action taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability.
Measures such as exempting certain gas-based power plants from pooling mechanisms and increasing coal supplies to thermal stations were reviewed to ensure uninterrupted electricity during peak summer demand.
The government noted that "enough coal stock exists" to meet power needs in the coming months.
On the agriculture front, the Prime Minister reviewed fertilizer availability, particularly ahead of the Kharif and Rabi seasons. Efforts are underway to maintain urea production and coordinate imports of DAP and NPK fertilisers. States have been asked to intensify monitoring and take "strict action" against diversion and black-marketing, official
"The prime minister 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. He said that all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens from the impact of this conflict,” an official release said.
"Further, interventions proposed to be taken for emerging challenges in various other sectors such as agriculture, civil aviation, shipping and logistics were also discussed," said the release.
The meeting also took stock of price trends and assessed that retail food prices have remained stable over the past month. Control rooms have been set up for real-time monitoring and coordination with States and Union Territories under the Essential Commodities Act framework.
Emphasising communication, Modi stressed the need for "timely and smooth flow of authentic information" to prevent misinformation and rumours during the evolving crisis.
Prime Minister Modi also reviewed the availability of essential goods for citizens and directed all ministries to take "proactive measures" to minimise disruptions.
Broader efforts, including diversification of global supply chains and diplomatic initiatives to ensure safe maritime routes, were also discussed as part of India’s response strategy.
Union ministers including Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, J P Nadda, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Manohar Lal Khattar, Ram Mohan Naidu and Hardeep Singh Puri were present.
Senior officials in attendance included National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, along with Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan.