Amid speculations about a nationwide lockdown, the central government has clarified that no such plan exists nor is it being considered. The government has appealed to the public to ignore such rumours and avoid taking any panicky steps.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri termed the discussions about a nationwide lockdown as completely baseless. Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also clarified in the Rajya Sabha that the government has no proposal to impose a lockdown.
In view of the current situation, the government has taken a significant decision to increase the supply of commercial LPG. The LPG allocation to the states has been increased from 50 percent to 70 percent, which will provide relief to steel, automobile, textile and other labour-intensive industries. In addition, 20 percent of the LPG allocation will be specifically allocated to industries where piped gas is not available.
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Petroleum Ministry, said in a press conference that there is no shortage of crude oil, petrol, diesel and LPG in the country. She appealed to people not to unnecessarily crowd at petrol pumps, saying that rumours in some places are creating an artificial shortage.
According to the government, the country has petroleum reserves for more than 60 days. On March 26, 6.1 million LPG bookings were registered across the country, while 5.4 million cylinders were delivered.
Officials said that there are about 100,000 petrol pumps in the country, of which 91 percent are run by government companies, and all are getting regular supply. Private companies have also been ordered to supply a certain portion of their production to the domestic market.
