Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to review the current situation, ongoing measures and proposed mitigation measures in the context of the West Asia conflict. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretary made a detailed presentation on the global situation and the mitigation measures taken so far and being planned by all concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.
The potential impact on agriculture, fertiliser, food security, petroleum, power, small and medium enterprises, exporters, shipping, trade, finance, supply chain and all affected sectors and measures taken to deal with the same were discussed. The country’s overall macroeconomic outlook and measures to be taken further were also discussed. The ongoing conflict in West Asia will have a significant impact on the global economy in the short, medium and long term and its impact on India was assessed, and both immediate and long-term countermeasures were discussed.
A detailed assessment was made of the availability of critical needs of the common man including food, energy and fuel security. Short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to ensure continuous availability of essential commodities were discussed in detail.
The impact on farmers and their fertilizer requirement for Kharif crop was assessed. Steps taken over the last few years to maintain adequate stocks of fertilizers will ensure timely availability and food security. Alternative sources of fertilizers were also discussed to ensure continued availability in the future. It was also determined that there would be no shortage of electricity in India with adequate reserves of coal in all power plants.
A number of measures were discussed to diversify sources of imports required by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and other industrial sectors. Similarly, new export destinations will be developed in the near future to promote Indian goods. Several measures proposed by various ministries will be formulated and implemented in the coming days after consultation with all stakeholders.
The Prime Minister directed that a group of ministers and secretaries be constituted to work dedicatedly adopting a whole-of-government approach. The Prime Minister also directed the regional groups to work in consultation with all stakeholders.
The Prime Minister said that this conflict is a changing situation and the entire world is being affected by it in some way or the other. In such a situation, every possible effort should be made to protect citizens from the effects of this conflict. The Prime Minister directed that all organs of the government should work together so that citizens face minimum inconvenience.
Prime Minister Modi also directed to ensure proper coordination with state governments to prevent black marketing and hoarding of important commodities.