New Delhi, May 11: The Centre on Monday said India has sufficient reserves of crude oil, natural gas and LPG and there is no shortage of petroleum products despite continuing global volatility linked to the West Asia conflict, as the government appealed to citizens to avoid panic buying and adopt fuel conservation measures.
The assurance came during the fifth meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) on West Asia chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi. The meeting reviewed the evolving situation in West Asia and assessed India’s preparedness to minimise the impact of the crisis on citizens and supply chains.
According to the government, India currently has 60 days of crude oil reserves, 60 days of natural gas stock and 45 days of LPG rolling stock. Officials informed the meeting that foreign exchange reserves stand at $703 billion and that there is no disruption in the supply of essential commodities.
The government stated that India continues to meet domestic fuel demand in full despite sustained increases in global crude oil prices. Officials said Indian oil marketing companies have absorbed losses estimated at nearly Rs 1,000 crore per day, with under-recoveries reaching around Rs 2 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2026, to prevent the burden of international price rises from being passed on to consumers.
The meeting was attended by Union ministers including Jagat Prakash Nadda, Hardeep Singh Puri, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Kiren Rijiju, Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Sarbananda Sonowal and Jitendra Singh.
Officials said the current conservation measures are aimed at long-term capacity building in case the crisis persists and urged people not to resort to over-purchasing fuel or other essential goods.
The government also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for reduced fuel consumption through the use of public transport, carpooling and responsible consumption practices. Citizens were also encouraged to reduce unnecessary foreign travel, prefer domestic tourism and avoid non-essential gold purchases for one year to help conserve foreign exchange reserves.
During the meeting, Rajnath Singh stressed the need for uninterrupted energy flows, secure maritime trade routes and economic stability. He also called for accelerated diversification of India’s energy sources, increased renewable energy adoption and stronger preparedness mechanisms including early warning assessment and strategic crisis planning.
The IGoM was also informed that fertiliser stocks remain above normal levels ahead of the Kharif 2026 season, with total availability standing at 199.65 lakh tonnes compared to the assessed seasonal requirement of 390.54 lakh tonnes.
Comments are closed.