Kolkata: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday that the there is no need to panic about oil prices owing to present tensions between Iran and the US.
"The government has taken a position to wait and watch and there is no need to panic," he said on the sidelines of a CII event here.
There are tensions in the Persian Gulf due to geopolitical reasons, the union minister said.
"There is no dearth of crude oil in the global market. Yes there has been some spike in oil prices, but for the last two days it is subdued", Pradhan added.
Pradhan also said the steel ministry is looking at an aggregate investment of USD 70 billion in the eastern region of the country through accelerated development of the sector.
Launching the 'Purvodaya' programme here, Pradhan said the underdeveloped districts in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha have to be taken forward for the development of the steel sector.
The eastern region with rich mineral resources has a great potential for the development of the steel industry, he said, adding that Bihar needs to be included in the list.
According to the National Steel Policy announced in 2017, the government is aiming at a total production capacity of 300 million tonnes by 2030 and out of which, around 200
million tonne is envisaged from the five eastern states, he said.
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