Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured people that India was actively fighting the supply crisis of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sparked by the chaos in the Gulf, and that "some people" were trying to "create panic and pursue their own agenda".
Modi had been addressing the NXT Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where he declared that India had reached an important juncture amid the war between US-Israel forces and Iran, which has led to the closure of the Hormuz Strait and the subsequent disruption of global energy flows.
Noting that the Gulf chaos was having an impact everywhere, he said that India was "leaving no stone unturned" to address the crisis.
"I don't want to comment on them politically at this time. But I will definitely say that by doing so, they are exposing themselves to the public and causing significant harm to the entire country ... We are making efforts at various levels. Recently, I have discussed this with top leaders from several countries around the world. Continuous efforts are also underway to overcome the obstacles in the supply chain," he said at the NXT Summit.
He also warned of action against those trying to sell certain LPG products in the black market by taking advantage of the surge in panic buying caused by the situation.
"Promoting various energy sources has been essential for India's rapid development," he added.
Pointing out that several global leaders had praised India's importance as "the centre of gravity for the entire world", he reiterated the country's efforts to become self-reliant in the energy sector.
Bringing up the topic of ethanol blending capacity, he said that it had grown from 1-1.5 per cent in 2014 to nearly 20 per cent (in petrol) over the years that has saved India from having to purchase "approximately 18 crore barrels of additional oil from abroad in the last 11 years".
"Looking at the current situation, due to ethanol, we have to import approximately 4.5 crore barrels less oil per year. This means the country has saved approximately Rs 1.5 lakh crore from this alone," PM Modi declared.
On the topic of self-reliance, he praised the capacity-building efforts behind India's own petroleum reserves amounting to 50 lakh tonnes, with capacity augmentations on the way.
"Over the past decade, we have increased our refining capacity by over 40 million tonnes annually. That's why India has become one of the world's largest refining hubs," he declared at the NXT Summit.
"Just as we pulled the country out of the COVID crisis by uniting together, we will overcome this global crisis as well," PM Modi reassured.