Curbs On Ministers' Travel & Big Banquets, Online Seminars: In Modi Govt, Austerity Begins At Home

Last Updated:May 12, 2026, 15:21 IST

Departments are examining wider use of work-from-home and hybrid arrangements, while officials working in the new Kartavya Bhawan complex may also be encouraged to use the Metro

The Centre is preparing to impose austerity and fuel-conservation measures on itself first—curbing non-essential travel by ministers and bureaucrats, pushing virtual meetings, encouraging public transport use, and expanding work-from-home arrangements—as the Narendra Modi government looks to set an example amid rising concerns over fuel supplies and import bills.

Sources told CNN-News18 that ministries have been asked to submit plans focused not on cutting expenditure, but on reducing fuel consumption at a time of global uncertainty triggered by the West Asia crisis.

Government sources said non-essential domestic and foreign travel by ministers and senior officials could soon be stopped or sharply curtailed. Seminars and conferences are likely to shift online through video conferencing platforms wherever possible. Officials working in the new Kartavya Bhawan complex may also be encouraged to use the Metro and other forms of public transport, given the connectivity available in the central administrative district.

Sources added that departments are also examining wider use of work-from-home and hybrid arrangements to reduce commuting and fuel use. Large government banquets and events that involve extensive travel and heavy cooking gas consumption may also be scaled down.

The internal measures are being seen as the first step before the government potentially nudges the private sector and citizens towards similar conservation practices. Discussions are underway on encouraging carpooling, reducing unnecessary vehicle usage, and promoting remote work in private companies as well. Sources said there is also a possibility that broader social measures, such as limiting the scale of large gatherings and weddings, could be considered if the situation worsens.

The government maintains that the challenge at present is not a monetary crisis but a fuel-management issue. Petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri has repeatedly asserted that there are no reports of shortages and that India currently has around 60 days of crude reserves and 45 days of LPG availability. However, oil marketing companies are facing mounting under-recoveries, with the burden on the exchequer estimated at nearly Rs 1,000 crore per day.

Officials said the finance ministry is increasingly concerned about how long such support can continue if global energy disruptions persist. There is pressure to raise fuel prices to ease the burden on oil companies and manage the rising import bill, but the government has so far resisted substantial hikes. As Puri recently pointed out, there has not been a major increase in fuel prices since 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal for a more “judicious" and conservation-oriented approach has now triggered detailed discussions across ministries. “It is not about saving money. It is about saving fuel," a government source said.

Officials also pointed to another growing concern—the widening current account deficit and rising imports, including gold purchases—which are adding pressure on India’s external balances. The government’s emerging approach, sources said, is centred on “conservation to avert a crisis, rather than conservation during a crisis".

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