New Delhi [India], November 17 (ANI): Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday recalled his time at the Indian embassy in Tokyo, Japan, where he lived along with his wife and daughter.

'A house full of memories. This was the house in Moto-Azabu district of Tokyo in which Lakshmi and I lived as young diplomats nearly 5 decades ago in 1976. Our elder daughter was just 40 days old when we moved to Tokyo and we have such beautiful memories from our time here,' Puri posted on X.

In a major step towards strengthening India's energy security, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday announced that Indian public sector oil companies have, for the first time, signed a one-year deal to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States.

The minister shared the development through a social media post on Monday, calling it a 'historic first' for the country's LPG market.

He stated, 'A historic first! One of the largest and the world's fastest-growing LPG markets opens up to the United States. In our endeavour to provide secure, affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing. In a significant development, Indian PSU oil companies have successfully concluded a 1-year deal for imports of around 2.2 MTPA LPG.'

Highlighting India's position as one of the largest and fastest-growing LPG markets in the world, Puri said that the new agreement marks a significant milestone in the country's efforts to diversify its LPG sourcing.

According to the minister, the Indian PSU companies have concluded a contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LPG for the contract year 2026.

This volume represents close to 10 per cent of India's annual LPG imports and will be sourced from the US Gulf Coast. He noted that this will be the first structured long-term contract involving US LPG for the Indian market.

Puri explained that the purchase has been benchmarked to Mount Belvieu, a key pricing point for global LPG trade.

He added that teams from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) had visited the United States in recent months to hold discussions with major American producers, which have now been successfully concluded.

The minister also highlighted the government's commitment to ensuring affordable LPG for Indian households, particularly for women benefitting from the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

He pointed out that even as global LPG prices surged by more than 60 per cent last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured that Ujjwala consumers continued to pay only Rs 500-550 per cylinder, against an actual cost of over Rs 1,100.

To shield consumers from international price shocks, the Government of India absorbed a burden of over Rs 40,000 crore during the year.

He also shared that the new US import deal reinforces the government's ongoing efforts to secure reliable and affordable energy supplies for the country's people. (ANI)