Modi chairs CCS, reviews urea, LPG stocks
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review measures taken by various ministries, departments in context of the ongoing West Asia conflict. The CCS also discussed further initiatives to be taken to safeguard citizens from the impact of the turmoil. This was the second special CCS meeting on this issue as the West Asia conflict enters fifth week disrupting global supply lines.
The PM assessed the availability of essential commodities and discussed availability of fertilisers in the country plus steps being taken to ensure its availability in the Kharif and Rabi seasons. Mr Modi directed that all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens from the impact of this conflict. He also stressed on the need for timely and smooth flow of authentic information to the public to prevent misinformation and rumour mongering. He directed the concerned departments to take all possible measures to ameliorate the problems of citizens and sectors affected by the ongoing global situation.
The Union ministers Amit Shah, S. Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, J. P. Nadda, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Manohar Lal Khattar, Pralhad Joshi, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Hardeep Singh Puri attended the meeting. Also present were National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the prime minister's two principal secretaries, P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, and Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan.
During the meeting, interventions across agriculture, fertilizers, shipping, aviation, logistics and MSMEs to mitigate emerging challenges were discussed. The CCS reviewed the supply diversification for LPG and LNG, fuel duty reduction and power sector measures to ensure stability of essential supplies. Steps taken to ensure stable prices of essential commodities and strict action against hoarding and black-marketing were also discussed.
Cabinet Secretary (CS) briefed the CCS about the action taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability. He informed that sources are being diversified for procurement of LPG and LNG with new inflows from different countries. He informed that the LPG prices for domestic consumers have remained the same and anti-diversion enforcement to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG is being conducted regularly.
The CS informed the CCS about the initiatives taken to expand Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections. Measures like exempting the gas-based power plants with a capacity of 7-8 GW from gas pooling mechanism and increasing of rake for positioning more coal at thermal power stations to ensure availability of power during the peak summer months were also discussed. The CCS was informed that there is enough coal stock to serve power needs adequately in coming months.
The CCS also discussed interventions proposed to be taken for emerging challenges in various other sectors such as agriculture, civil aviation, shipping and logistics. In this regard, various efforts like maintaining urea production to meet requirements, coordinating with overseas supplies for DAP/NPKS suppliers to ensure fertilizer supply too were discussed, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. It added that the state governments are being requested to curb black marketing, hoarding, and diversion of fertilizers through daily monitoring, raids, and strict action.
The PMO said that the retail prices of food commodities have been stable over the past one month and Control Rooms have been set up for constant monitoring and interaction with States/UTs on prices and enforcement of Essential Commodities Act. The prices of agricultural products, vegetables and fruits are also being monitored, PMO said.
Efforts to globally diversify sources for energy, fertilizers and other supply chains, and international initiatives for securing safe passage of vessels through the strait of Hormuz and ongoing diplomatic efforts being taken too formed part of the discussion.
Ahead of the CCS, there was an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia during which the Additional Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, informed that the country has an adequate supply of seeds and agro-chemicals for the upcoming Kharif season. Ms Dwivedi informed that the agriculture and fertilisers secretaries held a meeting with the state secretaries on March 30 to assess the situation. In the meeting, states were asked to ensure the last-mile availability of key inputs. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also chaired a virtual meeting with state agriculture ministers, flagging gaps in farmer registration, fertiliser distribution, and pulse procurement under PM-AASHA.
