New Delhi: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday called on the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) to put in place a strategic energy mitigation framework to protect the economy from oil shocks once prices breach the $90-per-barrel threshold and ensure long-term stability.
The suggestion by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance assumes importance in view of the Brent crude oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel in the past few days due to the war in West Asia, having surged by about 40 per cent in March.
The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, also suggested a coordinated national strategy and accelerated efforts to shore up the supply of critical minerals and rare earth elements, highlighting the rapidly evolving global competition for them. These commodities are essential for semiconductors, renewable energy systems, electric mobility, defence technologies, and the development of alternative fuels, it added.
