The government today reaffirmed that fertiliser availability in the country remains robust, with supplies consistently exceeding demand. During an interministerial briefing on updates related to developments in West Asia, Additional Secretary in the Department of Fertilisers Aparna Sharma said that no shortages have been reported so far. She added that urea availability stood at 71.58 lakh metric tonnes against a requirement of 18.17 lakh metric tonnes, while DAP availability was 22.35 lakh metric tonnes against a requirement of 5.90 lakh metric tonnes.
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma, said that there is an adequate supply of LPG in the country and no distributor is facing any dry-out. She said that 93% of LPG cylinder deliveries are being carried out through OTP verification. She added that in this month so far, more than 165,000 tonnes of commercial LPG have been sold, compared to around 129,000 tonnes last month. She also said that the supply of petrol and diesel in the country remains normal. She appealed to people to avoid panic buying and rumours.
Director in the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Waterways, Mandeep Singh Randhawa, said that on 25th April, an incident involving a Togo-flagged chemical tanker, MT Siron, was reported, which had Indian crew members on board. He said that the incident occurred near the outer port limits of Shinas in Oman, and the vessel was sailing along with other ships when it was intercepted by the Iranian Coast Guard, which fired warning shots. He assured that all Indian crew members are safe and the Ministry is in constant contact with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions, and maritime stakeholders. He said the government is committed to ensuring the safety of the crew and maritime operations. Mr Randhawa added that all Indian seafarers in the region are safe.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has continued to expand its outreach to the countries in the Gulf region. He said that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited the UAE and discussed measures to further deepen the India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership.
Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Assem R. Mahajan, said that the Ministry of External Affairs is closely monitoring developments in the Gulf and West Asia regions, and the government’s efforts are focused on ensuring the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community in the region. He said that the safety of Indian seafarers in the region is of high priority to the government. Mr Mahajan said that around 13 lakh 19 thousand passengers have travelled from the region to India since 28th February this year.
