Pradhan reiterates PM's call for G20 taking human-centric approach to overcome hardships

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for the group taking a human-centric approach for overcoming challenging hardships, especially for the vulnerable.

Pradhan made the comments during the G20 Extraordinary Energy Ministers' virtual meeting held on Friday.

"The meeting was called by Saudi Arabia in its capacity as the G20 Presidency and chaired by Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz. The meeting was attended by Energy Ministers of G20 countries, guest countries and heads of international organisations including OPEC, IEA and IEF," the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in an official statement.

The G20 Energy Ministers focused on ways and means to ensure stable energy markets, which are affected due to demand reduction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing surplus production-related matters.

"During the meeting, the minister reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for G20 taking a human-centric approach for overcoming challenging hardships, especially for the vulnerable," the statement said.

"In this context, the minister highlighted the decision of the Prime Minister, under the aegis of the Ujjwala scheme, to provide 80.3 million poor families free LPG cylinders, as part of a 23 billion dollars relief package. He emphasised that India was, and will continue to be, the global energy demand centre. He also highlighted the government's efforts to fill in our strategic petroleum reserves," it added.

In terms of the ongoing energy market fluctuations, Pradhan stated that India has always advocated for a stable oil market, which is reasonable for producers and affordable for consumers.

He appreciated the collective efforts of OPEC and OPEC-plus countries to balance the supply-side factors which is imperative for long-term sustainability, the statement said.

The minister, has, however, urged that oil prices should be targeted to affordable levels to allow for a consumption-led demand recovery, it further said.