March 16, New Delhi – India's inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia was held in New Delhi.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting provided further updates on the current situation and the coordinated steps being taken by the government.
Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Aseem R. Mahajan confirmed that approximately 220,000 passengers have returned to India from the region since February 28.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said that the Indian government is actively assisting citizens to leave Iran by crossing land borders into Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, stated that all petrol pumps are operating normally with sufficient crude oil inventories, and there are no shortages at any LPG distribution center.
Special Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said that all Indian seafarers in West Asia are safe and that the Indian-flagged tanker, Jag Laadki, which is sailing from the UAE and carrying 80,800 metric tonnes of crude oil, will reach India tomorrow.
Byte 1: Aseem R. Mahajan, Additional Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs
Byte 2: Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs
Byte 3: Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Byte 4: Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways