India urges fuel conservation and reduced gold buying amid energy crisis

India has urged citizens to work from home, cut non-essential travel and avoid buying gold as it responds to rising energy costs and pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the country's 1.4 billion people to return to work-from-home arrangements and online meetings, use public transport and carpool where possible.

He also asked people to refrain from buying gold for weddings.

The measures come as India and other Asian economies face a surge in global energy prices linked in the supplied material to the Iran war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The row says India is trying to protect its economy while keeping fuel prices unchanged for now.

Mr Modi has also pushed for wider conservation steps, including greater use of electric vehicles, lower fertiliser use by farmers and reduced cooking oil consumption by families.

The supplied material says he has described some of these changes as healthy and patriotic.

The broader pressure is affecting governments across South Asia, which are spending billions of dollars on subsidies and import duty waivers to shield consumers from price rises.

The supplied material says India is one of several Asian countries seeking to limit the economic damage.

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