New Delhi: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated on Tuesday that, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict has lately influenced gasoline prices throughout the world, the increase in India will be just 5% between April 2021 and March 2022, compared to more than 50% in certain developed and developing countries, news agency PTI reported.
Intervening in the Lok Sabha’s brief debate on the “Situation in Ukraine,” the minister refuted the Opposition’s claim that Operation Ganga was “operation conveyance” rather than “operation evacuation.”
The minister, who was one of the special envoys sent to countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation of Indians from the war-torn country, stated that in the final stages of Operation Ganga, the Indian government did organise buses in Ukraine to transport stranded students to bordering countries and that this cannot be dismissed as ‘operation transport.’
In response to increased fuel prices, the minister stated, “we are not the only country impacted by the war.”
He went on to say that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has had an impact on the entire world.
Citing statistics, the minister stated that the increase in petrol prices in India was quite minimal in comparison to developed and other emerging countries in the aftermath of the conflict.
He claims that gas costs have risen by more than 50% in nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Sri Lanka. In the case of India, the rise came out to be only 5%, he noted.
He stated that the increase in gasoline prices at the pump between April 2021 and March 2022 in the United States was 51%, 52% in Canada, 55% in Germany, 55% in the United Kingdom, 50% in France, 58% in Spain, 55% in Sri Lanka, and 5% in India.
“Our percentage increase is one-tenth of what it is elsewhere,” he said.
Puri also noted that the price of natural gas on the international market has risen numerous times since the start of the war.
The minister also denied the Opposition’s claim that the Indian mission’s warning to students before the commencement of the real conflict was unclear and confusing.
He stated that the recommendation was extremely explicit and recommended Indian students to leave the country and that around 4,000 students did leave Ukraine prior to the commencement of the conflict.
Many students chose to stay, he claimed, perhaps on the suggestion of Ukrainian educational institutes that things will return to normal or out of fear of missing a year if they left.
Later, under Operation Ganga, 18,000 stranded students from several countries surrounding Ukraine were sent home, he claimed.
The Indian mission in Ukraine took a proactive approach, requesting that students enrol before the real battle began.
He said that Operation Ganga was one of the most effective evacuation operations carried out by any government anywhere in the globe.
(With PTI Inputs)