Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday appealed to citizens to adopt a series of measures, including considering working from home, reducing fuel consumption, postponing foreign travel, limiting edible oil use, and avoiding gold purchases, as India faces mounting economic pressure from the ongoing global energy crisis and rising crude oil prices. Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad after inaugurating multiple development projects, Modi said the country must act responsibly at a time when India imports more than 88% of the crude oil it processes and global supply chains continue to remain strained due to the conflict in West Asia.
‘Duty Must Remain Paramount’: PM Modi
Calling for collective responsibility during the crisis, Modi said citizens should prioritise national interest and make conscious lifestyle changes to reduce the country’s economic burden.
“In this time of global crisis, we have to make a resolution keeping duty paramount and fulfil it with complete dedication,” Modi said.
Emphasising the need to cut fuel consumption, the Prime Minister urged people to depend more on public transport systems.
“A big resolution is to use petrol and diesel sparingly. We must curb our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with Metro lines, we should decide to travel by Metro only. If we must use a car, then we should try to carpool,” he said.
Work From Home, Push For Metro Travel, And EVs
The Prime Minister outlined several measures aimed at reducing India’s dependence on imported fuel and minimising pressure on foreign exchange reserves.
He encouraged greater adoption of electric vehicles, urged industries and businesses to move freight transportation towards railways, and advocated reviving work-from-home systems introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During the Corona period, we developed many systems of work from home, online meetings, and video conferences, and we even became accustomed to them. Today, the demands of the times are such that if we restart these systems, it will be in the national interest,” Modi said.
Why PM Modi Urged To Work From Home
Describing the current situation as one that demands “economic self-defence,” the Prime Minister called on citizens to alter consumption patterns to help safeguard the country’s financial stability.
To counter fuel price volatility, Modi said people should increasingly use metro networks and public transport wherever available, opt for carpooling when private vehicles are necessary, prefer railways for transporting goods, and expand the use of electric vehicles.
He also acknowledged the rise in fuel prices triggered by the ongoing Iran-United States conflict in West Asia.
PM Stresses Need To Save Foreign Exchange
Throughout his speech, Modi repeatedly highlighted the importance of conserving foreign exchange reserves as India’s import bill continues to rise due to expensive crude oil.
“We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally,” he said. “It is our responsibility to save the foreign currency spent on purchasing petrol and diesel.”
Appeal To Avoid Foreign Travel And Overseas Weddings
The Prime Minister also urged citizens to postpone non-essential international travel for at least a year, saying overseas vacations and destination weddings were putting additional strain on foreign exchange reserves.
“The growing culture of weddings abroad, travelling abroad, and vacationing abroad is becoming prevalent among the middle class. We must decide that during this time of crisis, we should postpone travelling abroad for at least a year,” he said.
Modi Urges Citizens To Avoid Gold Purchases
Modi further appealed to people to refrain from purchasing gold for one year, arguing that heavy gold imports add pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves.
“Gold purchases are another area where foreign exchange is used extensively… In the national interest, we must resolve not to purchase gold for a year, no matter how many functions we have scheduled at home,” he said.
Congress Attacks Modi
Reacting sharply to the Prime Minister’s remarks, K. C. Venugopal, Congress general secretary, accused the government of failing to secure India’s energy interests amid the Iran-US conflict.
“3 months into the Iran-US war and PM Modi is still clueless about ensuring India’s energy security. It is shameless, reckless and downright immoral that the PM is pushing the common citizen into inconvenience, instead of building contingencies to ensure our economy is unaffected by this global crisis,” Venugopal said.
He further criticised the government’s priorities, saying, “When elections and petty politics are the sole priority of the PM, the end result is an impending economic catastrophe.”
Also Read: Work From Home To Return? PM Modi’s Big Appeal Amid US-Iran War Sparks Buzz
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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