Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said there is no energy shortage in the country, adding that supplies of crude oil, LPG and natural gas remain comfortable despite concerns arising from the Iran conflict.Speaking to reporters in Ludhiana, Puri said India has enough reserves to meet energy requirements and has also reduced its dependence on LPG imports by boosting domestic production, PTI reported.Responding to a question on fuel availability, he said, “We have crude oil reserves for more than 60 days, we have natural gas reserves for more than 60 days.”On LPG supply, he said that the situation is also comfortable.For example, if 80,000 metric tonnes of LPG is consumed per day, domestic production, which was earlier 32,000 metric tonnes per day, has now increased to 54,000 metric tonnes, helping reduce import dependence, he said.He said that India currently has enough LPG stock for 75-80 days.“We have the maximum stock of LPG which is 75-80 days of stock,” he said.Puri said that global oil prices have increased after the Iran conflict, but India has managed to keep domestic fuel prices under control.Sharing data for the period between May 2022 and May 2026, he said petrol prices increased by 70 per cent in Pakistan, 66 per cent in Sri Lanka, 47 per cent in France, 46 per cent in Italy, 36 per cent in Bangladesh and 35 per cent in the US.He said, “In India, prices declined by 3.1 percent between May 2022 and May 2026. On one hand, prices in the world increased by 70-80 percent, but here (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji reduced the prices by 3.1 percent.”Explaining the decline, Puri said fuel prices were reduced after the Center reduced excise duty on three occasions – in November 2021, May 2022 and again recently.“A few weeks ago, excise duty on petrol and diesel was cut by Rs 10 per litre,” he said, adding that the move resulted in an additional burden of Rs 1 lakh crore on the budget.“But the PM did not want any financial burden on the people,” he said.“When we increased the prices of petrol and diesel, by how much? The fuel prices increased by Rs 7.60 per litre,” he said. Apart from Japan, India has recorded the lowest increase in fuel prices, he said.Responding to a question on the limit of 200 liters per day on sale of diesel, Puri said the restriction was imposed to curb black marketing.On the government’s push towards alternative fuels, he said currently there are 47 E85 fuel pumps in the National Capital Region.According to the minister, this number will increase to 500 by December 2026 and 5,000 by December 2027.Puri also said that LPG connection holders are being encouraged to switch to piped natural gas wherever possible.On the death of three Indian sailors in the US military attack on a merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman, he said India has lodged a strong protest.He said India summoned the US charge d’affaires twice, while External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised this issue with Marco Rubio.
