New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged the public to avoid panic buying petrol, diesel, and LPG, assuring them that the government is taking all necessary steps to maintain fuel supplies.
Singh, while chairing a high-level meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set-up to monitor the situation in West Asia, directed concerned officials to make continuous efforts to enhance the nation’s preparedness to deal with the evolving scenario.
He stressed that fertilisers and other essential agricultural inputs should remain adequately available to farmers to ensure that food prices in the country continue to remain stable, according to an official statement.
The meeting was attended by Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Railways and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Power Minister Manohar Lal and Ports and Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, among others.
“The supply situation in the country today is normal. The citizens should avoid panic purchase of petrol, diesel and LPG as the government is pulling out all stops to ensure the availability of all essential items,” Singh said on ‘X’.
He said the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been doing “excellent work since the conflict in West Asia broke out”.
The IGoM was apprised that supplies of petrol and diesel across the country remain fully adequate.
“During the present disruption, the public sector oil marketing companies have refrained from passing the full international price into retail, absorbing approximately Rs 550 crore per day as losses,” the defence ministry said in the statement.
It said this cushion is intended for retail consumption alone, adding industrial and commercial diesel tracks international prices as a matter of standing policy.
“A pattern has emerged of industrial users substituting their entitled industrial procurement with retail purchases to capture the protected price, alongside instances of black marketing by certain dealers,” the ministry said.
It said the central and state governments have intensified field enforcement of the laid down norms.
“The IGoM was informed that the overall stock position of fertilisers in the country is comfortable. For Kharif 2026, the fertiliser requirement has been assessed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at 390.54 LMT(Lakh Metric Tonnes), and as on today, it is around 200.47 LMT,” the ministry said.
The availability is significantly higher than the usual level of about 33 per cent, it said, adding this reflects improved planning, advance stocking, and efficient logistics management by the government.
