India has expressed deep concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in Lebanon amid continued strikes by Israel despite the two-week ceasefire in West Asia. It asserted that the protection of civilians remains its foremost priority. Addressing an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on recent developments in West Asia in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the current situation is very disturbing, particularly given India’s longstanding commitment to peace and stability in the region. He said that there are about 1,000 Indian nationals living in Lebanon. He assured that the Indian Embassy in Lebanon is in close touch with the Indian community for their safety and security. He underlined the importance of observing international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Meanwhile, the government has said that it has successfully met the peak demand of electricity and energy requirements of the country amid the West Asia crisis. Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Piyush Singh, said that all thermal power plants are running at full capacity with adequate coal stocks. He said that the government is planning for a power capacity addition of 22,000 megawatts across thermal, solar, wind, and hydro gas in the next three months.
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma, said that domestic LPG and fuel supply are stable in the country. Ms Sharma assured that there is sufficient availability of petrol and diesel, and no dry-out has been reported. She said that 1 lakh and 6,000 tonnes of commercial LPG have been delivered since the 14th of March. She said that more than 1 lakh LPG cylinders weighing five kilograms are being sold every day. Ms Sharma said that domestic natural gas use is being prioritised and people are urged to shift from LPG to PNG for efficiency.
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mukesh Mangal, said that all Indian seafarers in the region are safe and there has been no incident involving an Indian-flagged vessel in the past 24 hours. He added that the ministry has facilitated the safe repatriation of more than 1,927 Indian seafarers so far, including 124 in the last 24 hours. He assured that the Ministry is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions, and maritime stakeholders to ensure seafarer welfare and uninterrupted maritime operations.
