India Seeks to Boost Electric Cooker Production Amid War Fears

The government has started looking at ways to increase production of induction heaters, cookers running on electric power and vessels that go into it to prepare in advance for any eventuality that might arise if war in West Asia gets prolonged, a senior official said Friday. The meeting was held by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal with secretaries in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Ministry of Power Pankaj Agrawal and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Luv Agarwal on the issue. Already fearing disruption in cooking gas supplies there has been a surge in demand for cookers that work with electricity. The issue with scaling up the production of these items could come in the form of requirements of components that are imported. “We must try and expand the production and keep planning into the future and have to be prepared if the war prolongs,” the official said. The recent meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CSS) presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi directions were given to the key ministries to foresee the future and keep planning. Immediately after the war started, the ministries started holding stakeholder consultations. This has led to relaxation in rules, import duties and other support to the key sectors of the economy.