Pressure on foreign exchange ​reserves ::::: Hard Days :::: Reality check ::: Namo says - “If every household reduces use of edible oil, it's huge contribution to patriotism" :::: Think of saving PETROL, not buying GOLD for a year -- PM Modi amid oil crisis

The Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and the Hindustan Petroleum are together facing losses of nearly 30,000 crore per month.

​Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged a ‌spate of measures including 

fuel conservation, 

work-from-home practices and 

limits on travel and imports, as a surge in global energy ​prices puts pressure on the country's foreign exchange ​reserves.

At current global crude prices, the government and oil companies are effectively absorbing nearly 24 per litre on petrol and 30 per litre on diesel to shield consumers from the full impact of the crisis. If approved, petrol and diesel prices could rise by around 4-5 per litre, while domestic LPG cylinders may become costlier by 40-50.  

India is one of the few countries in the region that has not increased the prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers or rationed supplies.

But India has increased prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a primary cooking fuel in this country — after disruptions following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which led to Iran’s near-total blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“We have to reduce our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with metro lines, we should try to travel by metro … If we must use a car, then we should try to car pool,” Modi said, addressing a gathering in southern Telangana state.

‘USE ....

LESS EDIBLE OIL, CUT CHEMICAL FERTILISERS’

PM Narendra Modi has  asked citizens to reduce edible oil consumption and urged farmers to cut dependence on chemical fertilisers imported from abroad.

“The same is true for edible oil. We have to spend foreign currency on its import,” the Prime Minister said. 

“If every household reduces the use of edible oil, it is a huge contribution to to patriotism. 

"This will improve the health of the national treasury and the health of every family member.”

He also linked the global crisis to India’s agricultural imports, saying the country spends heavily on fertilisers sourced from overseas. “Another sector that consumes foreign currency is our agriculture. We import chemical fertilisers in large quantities from abroad,” he said.

"During the Corona period, we adopted work from home, online meetings, video conferences and developed many such systems. 

We had also become accustomed to them," - Narendra Modi 

"Today, the need of the hour is that we restart those practices, as it would be in the national interest, and we must once again give them priority," he said. 

Pointers: 

PM called on families to reduce cooking oil consumption, describing that move as both healthy and ⁠patriotic.

Modi ​also asked farmers to cut fertilizer ​use by as much as half.

PM asked people to use public ​transport such as the metro and to carpool 

India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, ‌late ⁠last month said there was no proposal to raise pump prices for diesel and gasoline, leaving it among the countries yet to raise prices despite the ​global surge.

Modi urged ​people to ⁠avoid buying gold — which India spends on heavily during weddings — and to cut non-essential ​overseas travel for at least a year ​to ⁠save foreign exchange.

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As fears of a fuel price hike intensify amid the West Asia conflict, PM Narendra Modi urged Indians to cut petrol use, avoid foreign trips and even pause gold purchases for a year.  

Amid the global oil shock triggered by the Middle East war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to revive work-from-home practices, 

cut fuel consumption and even 

avoid buying gold for weddings for one year to help the country save foreign exchange.

The remarks come against the backdrop of record-high fuel prices in many nations, from the US to neighbouring Pakistan, due to the Iran war fallout. 

Indians have been mostly cushioned from the blow, though this might change in the coming days.

PM links Fuel Crisis to 'national interest'

The Prime Minister’s appeal come at a time when global crude oil prices have surged from nearly USD 70 per barrel to around USD 126 per barrel due to escalating tensions in West Asia and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil route.  

Without directly announcing a price increase, PM Modi repeatedly stressed the need to reduce petrol and diesel consumption.

“Petrol-diesel has become so expensive across the world. It is the responsibility of all of us that the foreign exchange spent on purchasing petrol-diesel should also be saved by conserving petrol-diesel,” he said.

In one of the most striking moments of the speech, the PM appealed to citizens to rethink discretionary spending as the country faces economic pressure from rising global energy costs. “I would appeal to people not to buy gold for weddings for one year,” he said.  

Modi's remarks came as government and industry sources indicated that fuel prices in India could soon see their first major revision in nearly four years.

Sources say petrol and diesel prices are likely to be increased before May 15 as oil marketing companies battle massive under-recoveries caused by soaring crude prices.  

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum, said oil marketing companies (OMCs) had taken a hit on their revenues while ensuring “uninterrupted energy imports and supply”.

“OMCs are buying crude, gas and LPG at higher cost, but in order to protect consumers, they are selling final products at lower cost leading to massive mounting losses of upto 1,000 crore rupees per day,” Puri said Sunday on X.

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