New Delhi, March 28 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday emphasized the need to ensure preparedness for the medium to long term and a swift decision-making process to address the evolving crisis in West Asia.
Singh made these remarks while chairing the first meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) set up to monitor the situation in West Asia.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister JP Nadda.
Presentations were made at the meeting by the seven Empowered Groups of Secretaries (EGoS), outlining key sectoral issues identified and the policy measures already in place to manage the situation, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The IGoM took a holistic view of the evolving situation and its impact on various sectors in India, it said.
Defence Minister Singh emphasized the need for a proactive, coordinated, and forward-looking approach, and underscored the importance of remaining vigilant in view of the evolving scenario, it said.
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prahlad Joshi, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, and Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh also attended the deliberations.
The meeting of the IGoM was held to review the risks to energy supplies, domestic availability of essential commodities, critical infrastructure resilience, and the robustness of India's supply chains in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Singh said on social media.
"There was an in-depth discussion on all the measures being taken by the Government of India. The NDA Government, under the leadership of PM @narendramodi, is closely monitoring the situation and is committed to safeguarding the Indian people from any impact of the conflict," he said.
The ministry said Singh provided guidance to the EGoS to continue close monitoring of the situation, adopt a medium to long-term preparedness approach, maintain high-level coordination, and ensure swift decision-making.
"He stressed that all policy efforts should remain in synergy and be implemented in a time-bound manner. He also sought constructive inputs from all the concerned ministers to ensure that India remains resilient and prepared," it said.
The IGoM reaffirmed the importance of close coordination with states and district administrations, along with timely communication of key policy initiatives to the public.
The need for assessing the impact of the situation across various industries was also discussed.
It was also directed that all ministries and departments share relevant information, developments, and advisories related to the ongoing situation through the MIB WhatsApp Channel to ensure dissemination of accurate information to citizens and to effectively counter rumours, misinformation, and fake news, according to the defence ministry.