Government today assured that amid the West Asia conflict, the country has a sufficient stock of Fertilizers. Addressing the Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia in New Delhi, Additional Secretary for Department of Fertilizers Aparna Sharma informed that the country’s urea units are currently producing at 80% capacity. She said that during the Kharif season, the country requires 390 tonnes of fertilizers. She said that efforts are being taken to diversify the sourcing basis other than the Gulf countries. She mentioned that the Gulf region crucial for the import of fertilizers and domestic production of urea, has been impacted initially, but the country has adequate stock available for the Kharif season. She informed that April and May are lean months for agriculture, and we usually use this period to build up stocks. She added that keeping this in mind, we had already lined up significant imports.

Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Sujata Sharma said that there is adequate availability of petrol, diesel, LPG, and PNG in the country. She said that the government has taken several measures to ensure this at multiple levels and continues to do so. She said that the country’s refineries are operating normally, and crude inventories are sufficient. The Joint Secretary said that to ensure adequate availability in the domestic market and to keep prices from rising, the Government has reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by 10 rupees.