War between the U.S. and Israel against Iran has triggered a sharp surge in global energy prices, exerting significant pressure on India's foreign exchange reserves. To conserve foreign exchange, Modi has urged Indian citizens to work from home during the conflict, use public transportation or carpool, reduce unnecessary international travel, cut down on cooking oil consumption, refrain from purchasing gold for at least one year, and (for farmers) halve their fertilizer usage. He also labeled these measures as acts of patriotism. The core issue behind this lies in India’s foreign exchange reserves. According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), since the outbreak of the Iran war, India’s foreign exchange reserves have plummeted from $728.5 billion on February 27 to $690.69 billion by May 1. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that India’s current account deficit will reach $84 billion by 2026, indicating that India will be in a state of "outflow." The two items India imports most are crude oil and gold. India is the world’s third-largest oil importer, after China and the United States; and the second-largest gold importer, behind only China. Additionally, India is among the world’s largest importers of urea. Meanwhile, overseas tourism expenditures by Indian nationals continue to rise annually. Imports of oil, gold, fertilizers, and overseas travel expenses are all consuming India’s foreign exchange reserves at an alarming rate. However, oil and fertilizers are critical to the country’s economic stability and food security, making them nearly impossible to cut. The only areas truly capable of being reduced are gold and overseas travel. Whether Indian citizens will respond to Modi’s call remains to be seen.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864957368559691/
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