- Prime Minister Modi urged ministers to explore alternative energy sources amid West Asia crisis
- The US-Israel war and Strait of Hormuz blockade disrupted India's Gulf fuel supplies
- PM Told Ministers that Viksit Bharat 2047 is not just a slogan, but a commitment
At Prime Minister Narendra Modi's four-hour-long meeting with his Council of Ministers on Thursday evening, energy crisis triggered by the Middle East war loomed large. The Prime Minister urged his ministers to urgently explore alternative energy sources.
The US-Israel war on Iran and the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted India's fuel supplies from the Gulf. In this context the Prime Minister has called for looking at energy alternatives beyond the conventional ones. The Prime Minster also pushed for biogas as a substitute for LPG cooking gas.
The Prime Minister also called upon his ministers to implement reforms with vigour, underlining that Viksit Bharat 2047 was not merely a promise but a commitment.
The meeting of the Council of Ministers took place as the Prime Minister returned from his five-nation tour, the first stop of which was United Arab Emirates (UAE). India and UAE signed a key agreement on the petroleum reserve where UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will boost India's petroleum reserves. Apart from this, there was also an agreement on LPG supply.
The Middle East crisis has finally hit the Indian consumers directly with petrol and diesel prices being raised by around Rs 3 a litre to cover up for the losses of the Oil Marketing companies.
The Prime Minister Modi has been emphasising on cutting down on fuel use, appealing citizens to switch to electric vehicle and public transport as much as possible. He has also appealed to the citizens to cut down of spendings on gold and foreign travels to preserve India's foreign exchange reserves.
Nine departments made presentations before the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. These included Agriculture, Forestry, Labour, Road Transport, Corporate Affairs, External Affairs, Commerce and Power, sources told NDTV.
The Prime Minister also underlined the need to bring simplicity into government functioning and ensure that public interest remains the foremost priority across ministries.
Sources said PM Modi asked the ministers to take the government's 12-year journey, welfare initiatives and reform agenda, directly to the people.
The meeting also included a presentation on the achievements and reforms carried out over the last 12 years. Ministries had earlier submitted detailed reports to the Cabinet Secretariat outlining reforms undertaken over the past two years and future policy plans.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also briefed the Council of Ministers on the government's recent five-nation diplomatic outreach.
This was the first meeting of the full Council of Ministers in nearly eleven months. The last one was held on June 4 last year.
The high-level meeting comes amid a buzz of a possible cabinet reshuffle before June 9, when PM Modi's government completes 12 years and two years of its third term.
