07 March,2026 05:01 PM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said news reports on the potential shortage of LPG cylinders amid the West Asia conflict are speculative and not in the interest of the country, reported news agency PTI.
He appealed to the media to refrain from speculative reporting, stressing that the Centre is looking into the situation.
Responding to a query regarding news reports about the potential shortage of LPG cylinders, Fadnavis appealed to the media not to create panic or fear among the citizens without any reason, reported PTI.
"Showing speculative reports and discussing hypothetical scenarios leads to panic and confusion, which is not in the interest of the country and society. The Central government has clearly stated this yesterday," he added, reported PTI.
Queried on the timeline for the implementation of a loan waiver announced by him in the Budget 2026-27, Fadnavis said some people are trying to create confusion by claiming that the crop loan write-off won't be implemented by nationalised banks, district banks, or certain credit societies.
"We will grant a loan waiver upto Rs 2 lakh on any bank which extends crop loans. We want to ensure that farmers benefit through this initiative, not banks. We have already announced that the loan waiver will be implemented before June 30. This waiver will be better than the previous such measures," he added, reported PTI.
Notably, the prices of domestic LPG and commercial cylinders were hiked by a steep Rs 60 and Rs 114.5, respectively, amid rising energy costs linked to the West Asia conflict.
Industry officials said the increase follows a steep rise in global energy prices since the breakout of military conflict in West Asia.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a democratic nation like India can serve as a reliable base for global supply chains amid geopolitical shifts and supply chains getting weaponized, reported PTI.
Addressing a gathering at the foundation stone laying ceremony of XSIO (Logistics) Advanced Industrial Park in Nagpur, he also said manufacturing is getting reshaped completely because of innovation and automation.
"Advanced manufacturing is becoming the new mantra of this era and manufacturing is getting into the next scale with precision, innovation sustainability, automation. AI based technologies are changing the manufacturing sector in a big way," he said, reported PTI.
Manufacturing sector is very important for India, which has become the fourth biggest economy in the world and is on its way to become the third biggest, the CM added.
(With inputs from PTI)
