New Delhi, 12 May (H.S.): Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday that India has increased its domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production from around 35,000–36,000 tonnes to 54,000 tonnes per day. He added that the country currently has petroleum stockpiles equivalent to 69 days of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 45 days of LPG.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit, Puri explained that the rise in production is a strategic move aimed at securing the country’s energy needs and offsetting supply disruptions arising from the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

The Petroleum Minister stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to adopt frugality should be seen as a signal to exercise caution and to start examining measures that can reduce fiscal pressure caused by the West Asia crisis.

Puri reiterated that the Prime Minister’s call for frugality is an indication that the government is contemplating steps to ease the fiscal strain emerging from the West Asia crisis. In a rally in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Modi had urged people to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, increase the use of metro trains in cities, adopt carpooling, shift to electric vehicles, use railway services for parcel transport, and work from home wherever possible in order to conserve foreign exchange.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar