Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the need for a proactive, coordinated and forward-looking approach and underscored the importance of remaining vigilant in view of the evolving scenario in West Asia. Mr Singh said this while chairing the meeting of an Informal Group of Ministers constituting several Senior Ministers in New Delhi last evening. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Hardeep Singh Puri, J P Nadda, Jitendra Singh, K Rammohan Naidu, among others.  

 

The Minister of Defence informed that the meeting was held to review the risks to energy supplies, domestic availability of essential commodities, critical infrastructure resilience and robustness of India’s supply chains in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

 

Mr Singh provided guidance to Empowered Groups of Secretaries in the meeting to continue the close monitoring of the situation, adopt a medium to long-term preparedness approach, maintain high-level coordination, and ensure swift decision-making. He stressed that all policy efforts should remain in synergy and be implemented in a time-bound manner. He also sought constructive inputs from all the concerned Ministers to ensure that India remains resilient and prepared.

 

During the meeting, it was also directed that all Ministries and Departments share relevant information, developments and advisories related to the ongoing situation through the MIB WhatsApp Channel to ensure dissemination of accurate information to citizens and to effectively counter rumours, misinformation and fake news.