Explore alternative energy sources, PM Modi tells Government amid West Asia crisis

📌 Summary:

• PM Modi, at a three-and-a-half-hour Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday — held soon after he returned from his UAE and four-nation Europe tour — urged ministries to urgently explore alternative energy sources, including promoting biogas as a substitute for LPG cooking gas.

• The directive comes as the West Asia crisis and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz strain India's energy supplies.

• He pressed for reforms to be implemented with vigour and reiterated his governance mantra of "reform, perform, transform and inform", calling Viksit Bharat 2047 a commitment rather than merely a promise.

• He underlined "ease of living" — new initiatives or reforms must not trouble or harass citizens; the purpose of all reform is to ease citizens' lives.

• Eight ministries plus the Cabinet Secretary and the NITI Aayog vice-chairperson presented their reform initiatives; ministries were ranked top-five and bottom-five on indicators such as file disposal and public grievance redressal.

• The NDA-3 government completes two years in office on June 9.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 (energy security, renewable/alternative energy) and GS2 (governance reform) — shows how an external geopolitical shock (the Strait of Hormuz blockade) feeds directly into domestic energy policy and administrative reform.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, vital for global crude oil and LNG shipments.

• Biogas is a renewable fuel generated by anaerobic decomposition of organic matter; in India it is promoted through initiatives such as SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation).

• "Viksit Bharat 2047" is the government's goal of making India a developed nation by the 100th year of Independence.

🔑 Key Term: Energy security — assured access to affordable and reliable energy supplies, insulated as far as possible from price shocks and geopolitical disruption.