New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday, March 28, 2026, chaired the inaugural meeting of the Informal Empowered Group of Ministers (IGoM) to address the escalating West Asia crisis. Emphasizing the need for a “proactive, coordinated, and forward-looking approach,” the Minister underlined that India must ensure medium to long-term preparedness while maintaining a swift decision-making process to navigate global disruptions. The high-level meeting took a holistic stock of the conflict’s impact on India’s energy security, essential commodity supplies, and critical infrastructure resilience.
The IGoM session saw the participation of several key Union Ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J.P. Nadda. Also in attendance were Power Minister Manohar Lal, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, and Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi. The deliberations focused on reviewing potential risks to the domestic availability of essential goods and the robustness of India’s supply chains as maritime routes in the West Asian region face increasing instability.
In a statement shared on social media, the Defence Minister reassured the public that the NDA government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is closely monitoring the situation to safeguard citizens from the fallout of the conflict. The group conducted an in-depth discussion on measures already in place to insulate the Indian economy from international price pressures. The meeting follows the Prime Minister’s earlier call for a “Team India” approach, signaling a unified federal response to secure the nation’s economic interests amidst the ongoing regional volatility.
