India and Abu Dhabi to combat challenges in energy sector together amid COVID-19 crisis

In the view of the Coronavirus crisis, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday held talks with UAE Minister Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber via video conferencing. According to reports, during the conference, India, and Abu Dhabi have agreed to work together within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries to mitigate the challenges due to the Coronavirus pandemic in the energy sector. 

Taking to Twitter, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas called the meeting excellent and stated that the two leaders focused on the oil and gas outlook. According to him, the UAE Minister has also assured of additional LPG supplies to meet the free supply of three  LPG refills during the April-June period. Reportedly, the LPG supplies are for over 8 crores Ujjwala (PMUY) beneficiaries as part of the economic package announced by the government of India. 

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COVID-19 cases soar in India

According to the latest update of the Health Ministry, there are 4,789 cases in the country including 4,312 active cases. While 124 deaths have been reported overall, around 353 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Currently, the highest number of cases have been reported from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. 

In order to tackle the crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 had announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight of March 25 to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly. 

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(With ANI Inputs)