Joint Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Satyaprakash T. L., today said that the concerned departments are working in close coordination to ensure the uninterrupted supply of essential pharma inputs in the country. During an inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi on the West Asia crisis, Mr Satyaprakash said that global supply chains of pharma inputs have been disrupted due to the crisis. He added that there has been no major increase in the prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals despite the disruptions in global supply chains due to the crisis. He highlighted that the government has slashed customs duty on 40 petrochemical products to zero to support the pharma industry and to maintain the availability of inputs.

Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mukesh Mangal informed that the Indian-flagged vessel named Green Asha, carrying LPG, has safely reached JNPA earlier today. The vessel had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on the 5th of April. Mr Mangal said that the Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Mission, is actively monitoring the situation in the Gulf region due to the ongoing situation in West Asia. He underlined that no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels or Indian seafarers has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Additional Secretary highlighted that DG Shipping has facilitated the safe repatriation of over 1,800 Indian seafarers so far, including 49 in the last 24 hours from various locations across the Gulf region. Port operations across India continue normally with no congestion reported. The Ministry continues to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure the welfare of Indian seafarers and uninterrupted maritime operations.

Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma, said that the government is ensuring the 100% supply of LPG for domestic households in the country. She added that no dry-outs have been reported in LPG distributors. She informed that LPG cylinders were distributed to over 51 lakh homes yesterday. She highlighted that OTP based LPG delivery has reached 92% and online booking has reached 98%. She emphasized that the supply of bulk non-domestic LPG has been restored for sectors like food, polymer, agriculture and others. The Joint Secretary further informed that over ten lakh commercial LPG cylinders have been sold since the 23rd of March. She said that the government has also expanded the PNG connections, adding that over four lakh new customers have been registered. She also said that crude inventories in the country are adequate and the refineries are working at optimum capacity.