Modi urges fuel cuts, work from home as war strains India

Narendra Modi turned to austerity as a patriotic message, urging Indians to cut fuel use, work from home, carpool, use public transport, avoid unnecessary foreign travel and refrain from buying gold for a year. The appeal came as the war in Iran and wider tensions in West Asia pushed up global energy prices, deepening pressure on India’s trade balance, foreign exchange reserves and rupee stability.

Modi made the remarks in Hyderabad, where he also inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth about 9,400 crore. The timing gave the speech an unusually sharp edge. On one hand, the prime minister was showcasing development spending and political momentum after a recent state election victory. On the other, he was asking households to absorb restraint at a moment when the cost of imports, travel and fuel is becoming harder to ignore.

The economics behind the appeal are stark. India imports nearly 88% of its crude oil requirements, leaving the country exposed whenever oil prices climb. Gold poses a second drain on dollars: India is one of the world’s biggest buyers of the metal, and every surge in demand sends more foreign currency out of the country. By urging people to delay gold purchases for a year, Modi was signaling that even consumer choices at the household level now matter to the government’s effort to defend reserves.

Markets took the hint quickly. Shares of Indian jewellery retailers fell after the remarks, as investors worried the appeal could precede higher import tariffs on gold. The reaction reflected a broader anxiety that the government is preparing for a prolonged squeeze if oil stays expensive and the currency comes under more strain. In that sense, the message was not only about personal thrift. It was also a warning that the external shock is already filtering into company valuations and consumer behavior.

The political response sharpened the stakes. Congress said the appeal exposed serious economic stress, turning Modi’s call for sacrifice into evidence that the pain has reached ordinary households. Analysts have read the remarks as a sign that the government is bracing for a longer period of strain, with comparisons to the work-from-home and austerity habits of the Covid era now resurfacing. Modi’s challenge is whether nationalist sacrifice messaging can still hold when war-driven costs reach the kitchen table, the fuel pump and the jewellery counter.