Amidst the ongoing tension in West Asia, a big relief news has come from the Indian government. Refineries across the country are currently working at their full capacity. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) clarified in an inter-ministerial briefing on Friday that the production of LPG in the country has been increased by 40 percent.
The government has fully geared up to meet the increasing demand and ease the distribution system. Refineries working at their maximum capacity are proof that efforts are being made on a war footing to strengthen the domestic gas supply. The Ministry has clarified that there have been minor concerns regarding the availability of gas in some areas, but there is no dry out of gas with the distributors anywhere. Continuous supply is being ensured to keep the situation completely normal.
Amidst unstable situations like war, people often start booking gas in advance out of fear, but now there has been a huge reduction in this 'panic booking'. Just last day, around 55 lakh refill booking requests were received across the country. The most reassuring thing is that the delivery of gas is completely normal and it is being delivered to the customers safely through authentication code. Consumers are also increasingly adopting digital media; Currently, 93 percent of LPG booking is being done online, due to which gas availability has become even more transparent.
The administration is fully prepared to prevent any kind of irregularities, irregularities or black marketing in the supply chain. On Thursday alone, about 4,500 raids were conducted across the country so that gas could be distributed properly and fairly. At the same time, the general public is also moving towards new and safer options. About 13,700 Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections have been provided in the top 15 geographical areas. Recently 7,500 consumers have switched from LPG to PNG. Talking about commercial use, despite all the challenges related to logistics, 11,300 tonnes of LPG has been supplied so far.
Keeping in view the situation in West Asia, trade through sea routes is also being closely monitored. In the same briefing, Special Secretary of the Shipping Ministry, Rajesh Sinha updated that all our 22 ships located west of the Strait of Hormuz are completely safe. The 611 Indian sailors present on these ships are also safe and the government is continuously monitoring them. There has been no untoward incident at sea in the last 24 hours, there is no jam at the ports and 25 sailors have also returned safely to India.
