Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday praised “140 crore Indians” for standing united during the energy crisis sparked by the US-Iran war, saying citizens defeated attempts to spread fear, rumours, and instability while the government worked to protect the country from the fallout of the conflict.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi thanked citizens for standing steadfastly with the country during what he described as one of the most challenging global energy crises in recent times, saying public trust has helped thwart attempts to create instability.
“I express my gratitude to the 140 crore citizens of the country… I thank them… for the way they have steadfastly stood with the country during this difficult time,” he said.
He also discussed attempts to “thwart conspiracies” and “spread rumours.”
He added, “In the way the nation’s people confronted those spreading rumors, fear, and confusion… they thwarted plots to destabilize the country. The country has moved forward with the strength of that same confidence.”
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Prime Minister talks about ‘Willpower in New India’
In another post, Prime Minister Modi praised India’s “new strength of will” and the government’s timely response to help the country overcome the crisis.
He said India has carefully assessed the situation, formulated an effective strategy, balanced the use of its resources and strengthened its diplomatic contacts to minimize the impact of the global turmoil.
“In terms of the biggest energy crisis of the 21st century… India’s new 21st century willpower and India’s efforts have vigorously prevailed,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi added that India “took the right decisions at every level”, “accurately assessed the crisis in a timely manner”, “formulated an effective strategy”, “used India’s resources in a balanced way” and “used India’s diplomatic power positively”, saying that these actions enabled the country to recover from the crisis.
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India will increase its crude oil refining capacity: PM Modi
Prime Minister Modi also said that India will continue to expand its crude oil refining capacity to enhance energy security, even as many Western countries scale back or shut down refining operations.
Modi, who inaugurated the country’s first new refinery in a decade, said India remains committed to building new refining infrastructure to ensure the security of the fuel supply chain.
“No new refinery has come up in the US in the last five decades, and the production capacity in Europe is constantly declining,” Modi said, adding that India will continue to expand its refining capacity, according to a Bloomberg report.
The production capacity of the new refinery, with a capacity of 180,000 barrels per day in the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, is 2.4 million tons annually, and was built at a cost of 8.3 billion dollars. The report added that it is the only new refinery that was operated globally this year.
