West Amidst the ongoing tension in Asia, the whole world is facing a severe shortage of oil and gas. However, the situation in India is largely under control. Despite the severe crisis related to oil and gas, there is no plan to implement rationing or quota in India’s fuel supply. A senior official of the Petroleum Ministry gave this information on Monday. He said the country has maintained adequate reserves of crude oil and LPG and has diversified its import sources to manage supply risks. Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal said, “There is no need to panic.” There is sufficient supply. Nothing like rationing is happening nor will it happen.
How many days of petrol and diesel are left in India?
Neeraj Mittal said that during the last 67 days of market disruption, India has maintained a fuel (petrol and diesel) stock of about 60 days and an LPG stock of about 45 days. The comments came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for conservation of petrol, diesel and LPG and reducing imports. The Prime Minister had urged citizens to exercise judicious use of fuel and restraint in purchasing gold in view of the pressure on foreign exchange reserves due to rising global energy prices. Some people were seeing this statement of the Prime Minister as a prelude to a possible increase in fuel prices.
Government’s priority to keep prices and supply stable
Despite the huge rise in crude oil prices since the beginning of the West Asia crisis, petrol and diesel are being sold in India at the same old prices. Petroleum companies are incurring a daily loss of Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,200 crore by keeping prices stable despite more than 50 per cent increase in costs. However, a top government source said, “The primary objective of the government is to keep oil and gas prices and supplies stable.” Mittal said the government has secured additional energy cargoes and increased purchases from existing suppliers. Besides, it has itself borne the price shock through fiscal measures like reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel.
