“It was a word of caution and prudence,” Puri said addressing the CII Annual Business Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
There is no shortage of any petroleum product in the country. India has 60 days of crude oil, 60 days of LNG, and 45 days of LPG reserves available, Puri said.
Amid tensions in West Asia, to ensure uninterrupted supply, India has unprecedentedly increased its daily LPG production (from 35,000 tons to 54,000 tons), he said.
India is the only country in the world that has not increased petrol and diesel prices for four years, Puri said.
Our LPG production was increased by 50 per cent from 36 TMT/day to 54 TMT/day while demand moderation measures reduced LPG consumption from 90 TMT/day to nearly 70-75 TMT/day, he said.
Alternative fuels such as PNG, kerosene, biomass and RDF pellets were activated. PNG expansion was accelerated under the Natural Gas and Petroleum Products Distribution Order, 2026 under which 9.16 lakh PNG connections have been added since March 2026, Puri said.
He also rebutted myths like LNG imports from Russia and lock down.
India has never imported LNG from Russia at all. The news of lockdown is completely false and a rumor, Puri said.
While crude prices have nearly doubled globally, impacting even the most developed economies, India has held petrol and diesel prices with continued fuel availability across more than 1 lakh retail outlets and uninterrupted LPG supply to 33.5 crore households, he said.
For now, our oil marketing companies are bearing losses of Rs 1,000 crore per day and have been able to insulate the energy consumers from impact of global volatility, Puri said.
Also read: Modi reiterates call to reduce petrol consumption, other measures
