New Delhi, March 22 The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) reviewed the situation arising from the conflict in West Asia on Sunday, and a detailed assessment was made on the availability of essential needs for the common people, including food, energy, and fuel security, according to an official statement here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who chaired the meeting, directed the formation of a group of ministers and secretaries to work collaboratively in a whole-of-government approach to address the effects of the West Asia conflict.
The meeting focused on discussing medium and long-term measures to ensure the continued availability of essential needs.
"The ongoing conflict in West Asia will have significant short, medium, and long-term impacts on the global economy, and its effects on India were assessed. Counter-measures, both immediate and long-term, were also discussed," the statement said after the CCS meeting.
The CCS, which is the highest decision-making body on security and strategic matters, conducted a detailed assessment of the availability of essential needs for the common people, including food, energy, and fuel security.
The expected impact and measures taken to address it across sectors such as agriculture, fertilizers, food security, petroleum, power, MSMEs, exporters, shipping, trade, finance, supply chains, and all affected sectors were discussed, the statement said.
The overall macroeconomic scenario in the country and further measures to be taken were also discussed.
The impact on farmers and their requirements for fertilizer during the Kharif season were assessed.
The measures taken in the last few years to maintain adequate stocks of fertilizers will ensure timely availability and food security, it said.
Alternative sources of fertilizers were also discussed to ensure continued availability in the future.
It was also determined that an adequate supply of coal stocks at all power plants will ensure no shortage of electricity in India.
Several measures were discussed to diversify the sources of imports required by chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and other industrial sectors.
Similarly, new export destinations to promote Indian goods will be developed in the near future, the statement said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are members of the CCS, which is headed by the Prime Minister.