PM Modi urges work from home and reduced foreign travel amid West Asia crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for collective public participation to help India tackle the impact of global disruptions arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis, urging citizens to reduce dependence on petroleum products and conserve foreign exchange reserves.

Addressing a public rally in Hyderabad, Telangana, Modi appealed to people to adopt measures such as using public transport, increasing the use of electric vehicles, reviving work-from-home culture and avoiding non-essential foreign travel for at least a year.

“Use metros wherever available, adopt carpooling and rely more on railways for transporting goods. All these measures will reduce dependence on petrol and diesel and cut the use of foreign currency,” the Prime Minister said.

Referring to the practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi said India had successfully adapted to virtual meetings, video conferencing and remote working arrangements, adding that the country should revive those habits during the present global uncertainty.

“We developed work-from-home and virtual meeting systems during corona. We got used to it. The need of the hour is to resume those methods,” he said.

The Prime Minister also urged citizens to avoid unnecessary foreign travel, destination weddings and overseas vacations for one year in order to conserve foreign exchange reserves during the ongoing crisis.

He further appealed to people to avoid buying gold during festivals for the next year as part of efforts to reduce economic pressure and strengthen national resilience.

Pushing his “Vocal for Local” campaign once again, Modi asked citizens to identify imported goods used in daily life and gradually shift towards locally manufactured alternatives.

“This does not mean throwing away foreign goods immediately, but we must work towards self-reliance as soon as possible,” he said.

The Prime Minister also reiterated his appeal to reduce cooking oil consumption by 10 per cent, saying it would help both national interests and family health.

Highlighting agriculture reforms, Modi encouraged farmers to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers and adopt natural farming practices to make the country more self-reliant.

During his speech, Modi also referred to recent Assembly election results and hailed the BJP’s performance in states including West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry.

He said the BJP’s victory in West Bengal marked a historic political shift and accused the Trinamool Congress of promoting dynasty politics and divisive governance.

Targeting the Congress party, Modi alleged that it had moved closer to Left ideology and the Muslim League, claiming that people across the country were increasingly placing faith in BJP-led governance.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that Telangana, too, would seek political change in favour of the BJP in the coming years.