Today (March 14) is the 15th day of the war between America, Israel and Iran, which started on February 28. The fire of war has not spread only to these countries but its heat is being felt all over the world. India is also taking necessary steps to deal with this crisis. Especially when concerns are being raised regarding LPG supply due to the impact of movement in Iran’s Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Shipping Ministry has given a big update regarding this.

‘Indian sailors completely safe’

Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Chief Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said, ‘All Indian sailors are completely safe in the Persian Gulf area, no untoward incident of any kind has happened with them in the last 24 hours.’ He told, ’24 Shivas of the Indian flag were present in the Persian Gulf, located west of the Strait of Hormuz.’

Two LPG ships will return to India

Sinha further said, ‘Two of these ships, Shivalik and Nanda, are LPG carriers. They emerged safely from the Strait of Hormuz last night (Friday)/this morning and are moving towards India. There is about 92,700 metric tons of LPG on both these ships. It will arrive at Mundra and Kandla ports on 16 and 17 March. Currently, there are 22 Indian ships left in the Persian Gulf, with 611 sailors on board.

Raids to stop black marketing and hoarding of LPG

At the same time, rapid raids are being conducted to stop black marketing and hoarding of LPG. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that raids are being conducted to curb black marketing and hoarding. Teams have been formed in many states, which are conducting surprise inspections.

FIR against 19 in UP, many in custody

Giving an example, he said that joint teams conducted raids in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Surprise inspections were also conducted at about 1400 places in Uttar Pradesh. Around 20 FIRs have been registered, several persons have been detained and action is being taken against around 19 people. Similarly, raids have also been conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Karnataka.

‘Priority to domestic consumers’

Sharma said, ‘The government is making every possible effort to ensure that domestic consumers do not face any inconvenience. Priority has been given to domestic consumers and the supply of domestic LPG cylinders is being maintained accordingly. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has allowed industries, hotels, restaurants and other establishments in NCR, which includes Delhi, to temporarily use biomass and RDF pellets in place of natural gas for a month.

‘Increase in domestic LPG production’

He said, domestic production has been continuously increased. Initially it has been increased from 10 percent to 25 percent, then to 28 percent and now to 31 percent. It has also been clarified that in urban areas there is a minimum gap of 25 days between the last delivery and the next LPG booking, while in rural areas there is a maximum gap of 45 days. Consumers have been advised to keep this time limit in mind while booking.

Strait of Hormuz Route: How much time does a ship take to reach India from the Strait of Hormuz? Understand the complete route

‘Commercial cylinder has been closed, no cylinder is available, only this last cylinder is left, after that I have run out of gas…going back to the old systems. Now we will get a coal furnace built and make tea on it…what to do, employment has to be done, it has to be done however you want, otherwise I would have made some other arrangement….’

When Shivpal, who runs a tea shop in Lucknow, speaks these lines, helplessness, pain, hope and fear are clearly heard in his voice, which is probably going to affect his employment in the future. He expressed his pain, his fear and his reality word by word without any change. Has the issue of commercial gas really become so serious, why are people scared and how suddenly this gas shortage has brought such havoc in their lives. To know the answers to these questions and to come face to face with the ground reality, it is necessary to examine the entire system closely.

#WATCH | Lucknow | Shivpal, the tea stall owner, says, “I am getting a coal furnace made here so that my business continues to operate. I am operating on the last cylinder today, and from tomorrow I will use this ‘bhatti’.” pic.twitter.com/zo0XzaV3EK

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026

Gas crisis looms due to US-Iran war

In fact, due to the war between US-Israel and Iran, the supply through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill. This is the reason why the country is facing shortage of LPG. The supply of commercial gas has been banned in many states from Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In such a situation, the problems of small shopkeepers running hotels, restaurants and tea shops have also increased in many cities.

Government implemented ‘Essential Commodities Act 1955’

The central government has made preparations to deal with these challenges. ‘Essential Commodities Act 1955’ to stop hoarding of essential commodities including gas
Has been implemented. Gas is divided into four categories. The first category includes PNG supplied to homes and CNG used in vehicles, which will not have any impact. The second category includes fertilizer factories, where 70 percent gas will be provided. The third category includes big industries (tea factories and big industries) which will get about 80 percent of the gas requirement. Whereas in the fourth category, about 80 percent gas will be given to small factories, hotels and restaurants connected to the gas network of cities.

How dependent is India on LPG?

If we look at India’s dependence on LPG, about 33.15 million metric tons is consumed annually. About 67 percent of which is imported. About 80 to 90 percent of the total imports are imported from the Middle East.

PM Modi said- India is ready for this crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly told the ministers in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday (March 10) to maintain public trust in the midst of global turmoil. Said, India has enough stock. The PM said that a supply chain management system has been prepared for this crisis, the minister should go and tell this among the people.

Necessary steps taken by the government

India has changed its strategy for supply of crude oil and gas. The government has given priority to commercial and domestic LPG supply. Understanding the problems of the restaurant association, instructions have been given to oil marketing companies to talk to them. A high-level committee has also been formed, which is monitoring the supplies. At the same time, domestic production has been increased and its dependence has been secured by using alternative sea routes for imports. According to government sources, LPG production has increased by 10 percent in the last two days.

The government has also said that there is no shortage of LPG, petrol and diesel in the country and people have been appealed to avoid rumours. If there is a problem somewhere, it could be due to a problem in the supply chain. It was said that all the petrol pumps and LPG distributors in the country have the same fuel available for supply as before. It was also said that domestic consumers will get priority. According to government sources, even before this crisis, 60 lakh gas cylinders were distributed daily and even now the same number of gas cylinders is being distributed every day.

Union Home Secretary spoke to DGP-Secretaries of the states

The Union Home Secretary talked to the DGPs and Secretaries of all the states regarding the prevailing situation and said that they should ensure that strict action is taken against hoarding and black marketing by any means.

A cabinet meeting was held under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (March 10) amid the war between US-Israel and Iran and increased tension in the Middle East. In the meeting, Prime Minister Modi has bluntly told the ministers to maintain public trust in this situation of global turmoil.

PM Modi’s instructions to ministers in cabinet meeting

The Prime Minister instructed the ministers during the cabinet meeting to maintain public trust in this situation of global turmoil. The PM said, ‘Oil prices are stable, tell this to the public. Assure people that India has enough stock. India has prepared a supply chain management system for this crisis, tell this also among the people.

Big change in strategy

According to government sources, India has made a major change in its strategy for the supply of crude oil and gas, so that despite the international crisis, there is no shortage in the domestic market. The government has especially given priority to commercial and domestic LPG supply. Understanding the problems of the Restaurant Association, instructions have been given to oil marketing companies to communicate directly with them.

High-level committee is monitoring

For this, a high-level committee has been formed which is monitoring the supply. India has not only increased domestic production but has also secured its dependence by using alternative sea routes for imports. Officials claim that India will come out of this global crisis in a much better position and stronger than other countries.

Why are there queues?

According to the information received from sources on the shortage of LPG cylinders and the queues for it, the reason for this is that earlier people used to book the cylinders within a month to one and a half months. He has suddenly come again to collect the cylinder within 15 to 20 days, due to which such pictures and information are coming to the fore.

LPG productivity increased by 10 percent

Government sources have made a big claim that the productivity of LPG in the country has increased by 10 percent during the last 2 days. According to government sources, the time between booking and delivery is still not more than two and a half days, but the next booking will be possible only after 25 days. Amidst the situation of tension in the Middle East, the government has also made arrangements for new alternative sources of crude LPG and LNG.

‘There is no shortage of LPG, petrol and diesel’

Government sources have clarified that there is neither any shortage of LPG and petrol diesel in the country nor is there any need to panic about it. If there is any problem somewhere then it could be due to supply chain issue, but there is no need for the public to worry. All petrol pumps and LPG distributors in the country have the same fuel available for supply as before.

Supply of 60 lakh gas cylinders daily

It was also said that even if such a need arises in the coming days and a situation arises where the government has to take a decision, the interests of domestic consumers will not be compromised and priority will be given to domestic consumers only. According to government sources, even before this crisis, 60 lakh gas cylinders were distributed daily and even now the same number of gas cylinders is being distributed every day.