India vs Global Crisis: From WFH to avoiding gold purchases and foreign travel - Decoding PM Modi’s 7 key appeals to Indians

Amid the ongoing tension in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently made seven appeals that served as a deja vu, reminding Indians of the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the significant escalation of Middle East hostilities on February 28, 2026 –triggered by coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – the region remains engulfed in a volatile conflict.

Iran’s subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, vital a shipping route through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes, the global supply chains are under immense strain, pushing PM Modi to urge Indians to bring work-from-home arrangements, online meetings, cut down on unnecessary investments, travel to save fuel etc.

PM Modi, speaking in Secunderabad on Sunday last week, gave seven important appeals to strengthen India during challenging global times by prioritising work from home wherever possible, reducing fuel consumption, avoiding foreign travel for a year, adopting Swadeshi products, cutting down cooking oil usage, moving towards natural farming and reducing unnecessary gold purchases.

Modi said the austerity measures, reminiscent of the Covid era, would reduce India's fuel use and help save foreign exchange.

PM Modi's seven-point message – DECODED

Reduce petrol, diesel consumption

The first thing PM Modi appealed was to reduce fuel consumption. The PM encouraged use of public transport, carpooling over personal vehicles. He urged the citizens to shift to electric vehicles, i.e. EVs and increase the use of EVs for transportation. PM has also advised to utilise railway services for cargo and parcel movement instead of road transport.

“In this time of global crisis, we have to make a resolution keeping duty paramount and fulfil it with complete dedication,” PM Modi said.

“A big resolution is to use petrol and diesel sparingly. We must curb our use of petrol and diesel,” he added.

India imports 90 per cent of its oil and its crude bill has seen a multi-billion dollar spike since the US and Israel's war on Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz shut for more than two-and-a-half months now.

As crude oil prices march toward $120 per barrel, India’s heavy reliance on energy imports has become a critical macroeconomic vulnerability. This spike in costs is intensifying fiscal pressure and threatening the stability of domestic fuel pricing.

The Prime Minister’s call for fuel conservation is particularly comes at a time when state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) grapple with monthly under-recoveries of approximately Rs 30,000 crore - a direct result of the widening gap between skyrocketing global crude costs and frozen retail fuel rates.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose more than 1 per cent, with international benchmark Brent crude gaining 1.57 per cent to $107.38 per barrel. Similarly, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced 1.72 per cent to $102.92 per barrel.

Next, the Prime Minister appealed to resume work from home. Unlike the Covid-19 years, the latest work-from-home appeal is not linked to a health emergency. PM Modi framed it as an economic and national-interest measure aimed at lowering fuel use during a period of global instability.

PM Modi asked to re-adopt work-from-home practices, virtual meetings, and video conferencing similar to Covid-19 pandemic era to reduce commuting.

By encouraging remote work and virtual meetings, the government appears to be pushing for lower daily commuting and reduced fuel demand, especially in large cities. The Prime Minister also said people should use metros and public transport wherever possible and adopt carpooling when private vehicles are necessary.

Why PM Modi wants Indian to stop purchasing gold

In his speech, PM Modi has asked the citizens to avoid non-essential gold buying for at least one year, as India imports over 90 per cent of the precious yellow metal and support locally manufactured products instead.

The country is the world’s second-biggest consumer of gold, surpassed only by China, importing roughly 600 to 800 tons of the precious metal every year, as per Bloomberg News.

Morgan Stanley estimates Indian households hold around 34,600 tons of the metal, including rings, bangles, necklaces, bars, tucked into lockers, temple vaults and ancestral trunks from Mumbai to Kolkata. At current international prices, that would equate to a staggering $5.2 trillion.

Worth mentioning, India produces negligible amounts of gold domestically, making it almost entirely dependent on the rest of the world, bringing in the metal from places such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Banks in India import much of gold, which they supply to jewellers and dealers across the country, while refiners bring in raw ore to process locally. Every ounce that arrives must be paid for in dollars, which is where the economy feels it.

Gold is the biggest commodity on the country’s import bill after crude oil, and when demand surges, particularly during wedding seasons, festivals or periods of global uncertainty, the import bill swells with it.

India’s enthusiasm for gold widens the trade deficit, putting pressure on the rupee. The Indian currency has weakened by around 6 per cent against the dollar this year, making it the worst performer among major Asian currencies, and hitting a record low.

Foreigners have pulled more than $22 billion out of local stocks this year, weighing further on the national current-account deficit, Bloomberg News reported.

The Indian government hopes a slowdown in gold imports will improve the trade and current-account balances, safeguard the rupee and free up foreign reserves to buy more oil, liquefied petroleum gas and fertilizers. Prices of these critical inputs for the Indian economy have increased due to the ongoing war in Iran, causing shortages and spurring inflation.

Policymakers have often considered gold imports to be non-essential as they drain dollars from the national reserves without boosting domestic industries. Therefore, they have made repeated efforts to restrict them. By discouraging voluntary, non-essential purchases — particularly for weddings — the government aims to stem the outflow of dollars.

Why PM Modi wants Indians to avoid foreign travel

One of PM Modi’s appeals also included postponing non-essential foreign trips, avoiding overseas vacations and destination weddings for one year to help conserve 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.

It may be noted that air fares have surged as airlines pass on fuel costs. Due to this, overseas holidays are becoming more expensive.

According to the travel search site Kayak, as reported by Al Jazeera, the average international airfare from the US to all destinations was $1,101 in the last week of April, a 16 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

According to the travel insurance firm ACKO, Indians travelling abroad spent $31.7bn in 2023-2024. In 2024, about 30.9 million Indian nationals departed India, according to data from the Bureau of Immigration. This was up from about 27.9 million Indian nationals in 2023, Aljazeera reported.

PM also asks families, farmers to change habits

The Prime Minister’s suggestions also extended to Indian households and farms. He encouraged families to reduce edible oil consumption, saying it would help both personal health and the country’s economic health.

He has also asked farmers to reduce chemical fertiliser use by 50 per cent and move towards natural farming practices to reduce import dependence and protect soil quality. He also promoted the use of solar-powered irrigation pumps instead of diesel-powered systems in agriculture.

Another one is vocal for local. That is buying swadeshi. He has asked to promote and buy made in India products to reduce dependence on foreign imports.