Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Lok Sabha, spoke on the current situation in the Middle East.
This comes a day after PM Modi held a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) to discuss the long and short term measures to ensure the supply of essential commodities and energy security amid US-Israel-Iran war.
The current situation in West Asia is worrying. In the last two to three weeks, S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri has updated the Parliament on the conflict, said PM Modi.
Speaking about the impact of US-Israel-Iran war which has been ongoing for over three weeks now, PM Modi said, "It has an adverse impact on global economy and lives. "
Modi said that India is "facing unprecendented challenges" due to the ongoing war between US-Israel and Iran.
"India is facing economic, national security related and humanitarian challenges," he said.
West Asia is a key route for our trade, said PM Modi in Lok Sabha.
Over 1 crore Indian live and work in Gulf nations. Due to several such reasons, India is worried, and that is why it is important that we raise a common voice in the world, he added.
“Earlier, for energy needs, we made imports from 27 countries. Now, India imports energy from 41 countries,” PM Modi said on diversification of sources in past 11 years.
53 lakh metric tonnes of strategic petrol reserve, he added.
PM Modi said 1,000 Indians have returned safely from Ira. These include over 700 medical students.
“I have spoken to leaders in West Asia in two rounds of phone calls, all of whom promised safety of Indian nationals,” PM Modi told the Lok Sabha.
“The government is keeping an eye on shipping routes in the Gulf so that oil, gas or fertiliser ships for these products reach India safely,” he added.
He noted that some Indian nationals have died, and those injured are receiving treatment.
“The whole world is affected, and we are making efforts that India feels the effect the least,” PM Modi told the Lok Sabha. “Indian economy's fundamentals are strong, and that has helped.”
PM Narendra Modi told the Lok Sabha that the government has already ensured enough stocks of food grains. “Even during corona(virus) pandemic, when there was a disruption in the supply lines, we ensured our farmers did not suffer,” he claimed.
“I want to tell farmers that the government will continue to make every effort to help them,” PM Modi said in light of the West Asia conflict.
“At present, we have enough coal stocks,” he said, promising that power supply won't be disrupted.
On diplomatic efforts, PM Modi said India has made diplomatic efforts towards peace. “But attacks in commercial shipping, and the disruption of Hormuz Strait are not acceptable,” he said.
“India is focusing on security on all areas including coastal and cyber security. We have faced a similar situation during Covid era. Likewise, we must be prepared to face the long-term impact of the West Asia war,” said PM Modi.
PM Modi urged state governments to monitor complaints on black-marketing and unfair usage of essential commodities.
"Urea, a major fertiliser was made available to Indian farmers at affordable prices. We have made 6 functional Urea manufacturing units. Farmers have been awarded with PM Kusum scheme to fulfill their diesel needs. In India, the need of electricity will increase during summers. We are aiming to generate 100 crore of coal to generate power. Our renewable coal energy is at 140 gW. Under Govardhan Yojana, rooftop solar panels have been installed in more than 40 lakh houses. The government is also considering encouraging nuclear power generation," Modi said.
PM Narendra Modi concluded his address in about 20 minutes. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla then asked finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to place finance-related matters before the House, moving forward in the Budget Session.