Rajnath Singh chairs first meeting of IGoM to review energy, supply chain risks amid West Asia conflict

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday chaired the first meeting of the Informal Empowered Group of Ministers (IGoM) to review the risks to energy supplies, domestic availability of essential commodities, critical infrastructure resilience and robustness of India’s supply chains in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Held at Kartavya Bhawan in national capital Delhi, the meeting was attended by senior Cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Prahlad Joshi, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh.

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The Informal Empowered Group of Ministers took stock of the evolving situation in the Middle East and its impact on various sectors in India.

During the meeting, the seven Empowered Groups of Secretaries (EGoS) gave a detailed presentation, outlining key sectoral issues identified and the policy measures already put in place to manage the situation.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasised the need for a proactive, coordinated and forward-looking approach, and underscored the importance of remaining vigilant in view of the evolving scenario.

He directed the EGoS to continue the close monitoring of the situation, adopt a medium to long-term preparedness approach, maintain high-level coordination, and ensure swift decision-making.

Singh stressed that all policy efforts should remain in synergy and be implemented in a time-bound manner. He also sought inputs from all the concerned Ministers to ensure that India remains resilient and prepared amid the crisis.

“The NDA Government under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi is closely monitoring the situation and it is committed to safeguard the Indian people from any impact of the conflict,” the Defence Minister said on X.

The IGoM reaffirmed the importance of close coordination with States and district administrations, along with timely communication of key policy initiatives to the public.

They also discussed the need for assessing the impact of the situation across various industries. All the ministries and departments were directed to share relevant information, developments and advisories to ensure dissemination of accurate information to citizens and to effectively counter rumours, misinformation and fake news.