Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement regarding domestic LPG cylinder prices remains a topic of discussion today. He gave this statement in Balotra, Rajasthan. PM Modi said that the price of domestic LPG cylinder could have increased by ₹2,000 during the fuel crisis; But the efforts of the government prevented this from happening and gave great relief to the public from inflation.
Addressing a public meeting, PM Modi said, “Big countries are currently facing fuel shortage, but India’s efforts have successfully faced this crisis. India took the right decisions at every level – timely assessment of the crisis, making effective strategies and balanced use of national resources – due to which the country was able to overcome this crisis.”
**The country was on the verge of a big crisis – PM Modi**
PM Modi said, “We used to import about 60 per cent of our LPG requirement from other countries, out of which 90 per cent came from the Gulf countries. Suddenly, due to the war-like situation, that supply almost stopped. You can imagine what kind of chaos was going to be created in our country. But, as soon as the crisis started, the government focused on the refinery capacity; the refineries which were earlier making gas for industrial use, were allowed to make domestic LPG. The instructions were given and LPG production increased in just seven days.”
PM Modi said that during the crisis, domestic LPG production increased from 35,000 metric tons to 54,000 metric tons. Refineries that had never produced LPG before were made ready for this task so that the entire burden of cooking gas demand does not fall on LPG alone. He further said, “A campaign was launched to increase PNG connections – i.e. pipelined cooking gas. In a very short period of time, India connected more than 11 lakh households to PNG.”
**Cylinder prices could reach ₹2,000 – PM Modi**
“At the same time, we also ensured that there is not much economic burden on domestic consumers,” the PM said. “Given the current situation, the price of domestic gas cylinder could have increased by up to ₹2,000. Even leading market experts were predicting the same, yet here domestic LPG cylinders are still available at lower prices. Just two days ago, the government had also made a big cut in the prices of commercial gas. This shows how sensitively our government works.”
Talking about the issue of petrol and diesel prices, PM Modi said, “The crisis that arose regarding petrol and diesel due to the war was huge. Our country does not have any huge reserves of oil. As the crisis escalated, the prices of crude oil increased from $70 to $120 per barrel. The import routes were also disrupted. In many countries of the world, the prices of petrol and diesel increased by 40% to 50%; in some countries even Even cut fuel supplies. During April and June alone, companies suffered a loss of more than ₹75,000 crore on petrol and diesel.”
Government reduced excise duty on petrol – PM Modi
PM Modi said that the government has reduced the excise duty on petrol by ₹ 10 per liter, so that there is not much burden on the public. During the war, India started importing fuel from more than 40 countries. India gave a clear message to the world that national interest and the welfare of its citizens came first.
