India well-placed to deal with any situation on crude oil, fuel amid West Asia supply shock: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday, March 14, 2026, said India is well positioned to deal with any crude oil and fuel-related situation as the West Asian crisis has disrupted gas shipments and shipping routes, and emphasized that the government has increased kerosene production to provide an alternative option to the common man.

Speaking at the CNBC-TV India Business Leaders Awards 2026 ceremony, Mr. Goyal said the government plans to come up with some “concrete agenda” next week to support exporters.

“We are in a pretty good position on crude oil and fuel oil. We have good stocks. There has been absolutely no disturbance on the crude oil or fuel, gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel front,” Mr. Goyal said.

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He said India has increased kerosene production so that in case of any delay in LPG supply, it will be an alternative cooking medium for the common man. “Meanwhile, we meet our LPG and LNG needs by importing from different sources,” he said.

“When these gas shipments arrived in India, their shipping time was barely three or four days, seven days at best,” he said, adding, “We now need to diversify sources that are significantly away from India… Canada, the US and possibly Russia, we are looking at various alternative sources to meet India’s needs,” he said.

Terming the ongoing geopolitical situation a wake-up call for the country, he said that whenever India faced a challenge, it has always been able to convert that into an opportunity.

“I think there will be a certain lack of economic activity in the short term, but we will compensate for this in the coming months. [But] We will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world for at least another two decades,” Mr. Goyal said.

Admitting that the country was facing “stress” on the rupee, the official said there was no need for anyone to panic as the rupee is likely to recover more gradually after the war is over.

“We have definitely seen that in any period, when there is conflict or war, investments generally seek a safe haven. For example, we saw that a lot of money was flowing into gold, and gold and silver imports were increasing rapidly.”

Stating that his ministry is in dialogue with all stakeholders, he said, “We are in daily contact with all export promotion councils. We have a 24-hour helpline ready to solve any problem.”

He said the Ministry of Commerce is also working on some schemes that will help create insurance cover in case any export cargo is damaged or lost or even excessively delayed due to the Red Sea issue, the Strait of Hormuz issue or difficulties in the shipping line.

“We are in inter-ministerial consultation. Next week we will come out with a more concrete action agenda to support exporters,” the minister said.