Indian PM Modi to Cut Number of Convoys to Save Fuel

JAKARTA - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to significantly reduce the number of his vehicle convoys to save fuel, a government source said on Wednesday, days after he asked citizens to tighten their belts amid a surge in energy prices triggered by the Iran war.

PM Modi on Sunday urged people to implement austerity measures, including avoiding unnecessary overseas travel, using public transport, reducing gold purchases, and reducing the use of cooking oil, as soaring global energy prices put pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.

Following the appeal, several critics on social media questioned the convoy of large vehicles of senior Indian politicians, PM Modi's domestic flights, and his upcoming European visit with an official plane.

"The number of vehicles in Modi's convoy was reduced while still ensuring important security components, in accordance with the protocol of the Special Protection Group that guards the prime minister," the source said, without mentioning the actual size of Modi's PM convoy, reported Al Arabiya from Reuters (13/5).

PM Modi gets the highest level of personal security in India and his motorcade is known to have about a dozen vehicles before the reduction.

PM Modi reduced the number of vehicles in his motorcade for this week's visits to his home state of Gujarat and the northeastern state of Assam, the source said, adding that the prime minister also asked that electric vehicles be included in his motorcade if possible but without making new purchases.

The source declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Separately, the Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, relies heavily on the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed by the US-Israeli war with Iran, for supplies of crude oil, liquefied natural gas and cooking gas.

Higher oil prices threaten to widen the country's current account deficit, hurting growth, and stoking inflation as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach an agreement to end hostilities, more than a month after a fragile ceasefire halted fighting.

India has so far avoided raising gasoline and diesel prices, but a hike is seen as imminent given the situation in the Middle East.