Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri highlighted the expansion of national employment initiatives at the 20th Rozgar Mela in Amritsar, where 51,000 appointment letters were distributed across 45 locations. He said the initiative had issued between 1.25 mn and 1.3 mn appointment letters since its launch in 2022, and noted that he had attended 17 of the 20 editions. Puri also said the government had managed the country’s 107,000 retail fuel outlets during global energy market disruption linked to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. He stated that no retail fuel station had run dry during the period, while rejecting opposition allegations of mismanagement as misinformation. The minister acknowledged logistical challenges affecting liquefied petroleum gas supplies. He said daily consumption stood at 90,000 t, compared with domestic production of about 34,000 to 35,000 t, with a substantial portion of supplies originating from countries near the Strait of Hormuz. He attributed the absence of a shortage to measures taken under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Modi, addressing newly appointed government personnel virtually at the event, stressed the importance of continuous learning, modern skills and technological adaptability in public administration. He urged recruits to reduce bureaucratic difficulties for citizens and to ensure that people do not face the hardships experienced by them or their parents. The Prime Minister referred to Mission Karmayogi, the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building, as the government’s flagship initiative for shifting public administration from a rules-based to a roles-based approach. More than 17 mn government employees have joined the iGOT Karmayogi platform, while Karmayogi Prarambh provides online orientation for new appointees. The recruits are joining departments and ministries including Revenue, Railways, Home Affairs, Health and Family Welfare, Financial Services and Defence. With the latest edition, about 1.275 mn young people have received appointment letters through the Rozgar Mela initiative.