Modi urges Indians to save fuel and avoid unnecessary foreign travel

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to reduce fuel consumption, make greater use of public transportation, and temporarily give up certain habits amid rising global energy prices linked to tensions in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

The prime minister also called for greater efforts to conserve foreign currency reserves. He noted that expanding remote work, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, could help reduce fuel consumption.

In addition, Modi urged citizens to avoid non-essential foreign travel for at least a year and to reduce gold purchases, noting that gold imports cost the country significant sums due to wedding-related demand.

The Indian leader also advised families to cut their consumption of vegetable oil and urged farmers to halve their use of fertilisers.

India remains the world’s third-largest importer and consumer of oil. Despite rising global prices, Indian authorities said in early May that they currently do not plan to raise domestic gasoline and diesel prices.

By Jeyhun Aghazada