India Ensures Fuel Supply, Repatriates 10 Lakh Amid West Asia Tensions

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is taking steps to ensure the uninterrupted availability of petroleum products and LPG across the country, in the context of the ongoing situation involving the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite the ongoing geopolitical situation, the Government has ensured that 100% supply is being made to Domestic LPG, Domestic PNG and CNG (Transport).

For commercial LPG, priority has been given to hospitals and educational institutions. Besides this, priority has also been given to pharma, steel, automobile, seed, agriculture, etc. In addition to this, the supply of 5 Kg FTL to migrant labour is also doubled based on the average daily supply on 2nd and 3rd March 2026, the ministry further said.

The Government has already implemented several rationalisation measures on both the supply and demand side, including enhancing refinery production, increasing the booking interval from 21 to 25 days in urban areas and up to 45 days in rural areas and prioritising sectors for supply.Alternate fuels such as kerosene and coal have been made available to ease pressure on LPG demand.

The Ministry of Coal has directed Coal India and Singareni Collieries to supply additional coal to States for distribution to small and medium consumers. States have been advised to facilitate new PNG connections for domestic and commercial consumers. Moreover, all refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories, while sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are being maintained.

Furthermore, necessary measures have been put in place to safeguard Indian vessels and seafarers operating in the region by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The Ministry stated that it continues to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure seafarer welfare and uninterrupted maritime operations.

All Indian seafarers in the region are safe, and no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The DG Shipping Control Room has handled 6,580 calls and more than 13,719 since activation. 131 calls and 276 emails have been received in the past 24 hours, a release further stated.

DG Shipping has facilitated the safe repatriation of over 2,417 Indian seafarers so far, including 80 in the past 24 hours from various locations across the Gulf region. Port operations across India remain normal with no congestion reported.

The Ministry of External Affairs continues to monitor developments in the Gulf and West Asia region, with focused efforts on ensuring the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community in the region, a release read.

It was informed that the dedicated special control rooms in the Ministry of External Affairs are operational and are working in coordination with Indian missions. The Ministry of External Affairs is in regular contact with State Governments and Union Territories for the sharing of information and better alignment of efforts.

Meanwhile, flights continue to operate from countries where airspace remains open. Since 28 February, around 10,10,000 passengers have travelled from the region to India.

- ANI