West Asia crisis poses 'unexpected challenges' to India's economy, national security: PM Modi

The “concerning situation” in West Asia has posed “unexpected challenges” for India’s “economic and national security” given the country’s large imports of crude oil and gas from the Gulf nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, even as PM assured the nation that the government has enough food and strategic reserves to tide over the crisis. 

“Our effort is to ensure that ships carrying essential goods, be it oil, gas, or fertilizer, reach India safely. We are in constant communication with all our global partners to ensure the safety of our maritime corridors”, the Prime Minister informed the Lok Sabha in his first detailed intervention on war in the Persian Gulf that has now entered its fourth week. 

India receives a large quantum of its strategic imports including crude oil, gas, and fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz, held in chock hold by Iran since the start of the hostilities. 

The war, Modi said, will have long term implications for the world, including a “humanitarian crisis” for nearly 1 crore Indians who live and work in the Gulf nations. More than 375,000 Indians, including 1,000 from Iran, have returned to India since the last month.

An immediate challenge in this war, Prime Minister stated, would be the expected increase in electricity demand with the onset of the summer. “Currently, all power plants in the country have sufficient coal stocks. All systems from power generation to power supply are being continuously monitored, and the government's preparations have been significantly supported by renewable energy,” he said. 

Reiterating the steps taken by the government to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential commodities, the Prime Minster gave a broad outline of government’s energy security initiatives and strategy to address all such short-term, medium-term, and long-term impacts.

India’s current strategic petroleum reserves of over 5.3 million metric tons. The government is seeking to increase this figure to over 6.5 million metric tons, Modi informed the house.

Diversification in sourcing India’s energy needs and expansion in ethanol blending, too have eased the pressure on energy requirements, he said.

Modi assured the parliament that India has sufficient food reserves and indicated that the government will not let the escalating cost of fertilizer affect farmers during the Kharif sowing season. The domestic production of urea and DAP has increased in the last decade, Modi said.

“During the Corona period and the wars of that time, there was a disruption in the global supply chain. A bag of urea reached Rs 3000 in the world market, but the same bag was made available to Indian farmers for less than Rs 300,” PM added. 

Calling upon the state governments to undertake strict monitoring against black marketeers and hoarders, Modi urged the people to remain extremely cautious and vigilant against those seeking to “exploit the situation” spreading lies.

“It is essential that a unanimous and unified voice be expressed to the world from the Indian Parliament regarding this crisis,” Modi said.