← GlossaryCommodities
Strategic Reserve
A strategic reserve is a stock of a critical resource, such as crude oil or food grain, kept to use during supply disruptions. India stores emergency crude oil in underground caverns at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur.
Why It Matters
A reserve buys time during a crisis; it does not change the price the world is charging.
In India
During the 2026 Hormuz crisis, India had crude reserves for weeks of demand but no equivalent reserve for LPG.
See it in the news
Related Terms