Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday has urged citizens and businesses to reduce spending that drains foreign exchange, in view of global uncertainty and India's dependence on imported energy.
Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit, Vaishnaw said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given a "clarion call" to the country at a time when the world was passing through turbulent conditions. He said India had been affected by global developments "despite no fault" of its own, particularly because the country remained largely reliant on energy imports.
Vaishnaw said that due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, many countries had struggled to manage fuel costs, while India had been able to maintain relative stability in prices due to government policies. To keep the momentum, he urged citizens to consciously identify ways to reduce expenditure involving foreign exchange.
"Since war is still going on and truce is still far away, it is important for citizens to reduce our expenditure on everything that requires foreign exchange to be spent in our lives and in our own ways of working we can identify whatever we can do to preserve the foreign exchange, Vaishnaw said.
Not just preserving, Vaishnaw also stressed the importance of earning foreign exchange. "Simultaneously, we must also earn the foreign exchange more. Both things have to go in parallel. Citizens are requested to take cognisance of Prime Minister's call to the nation and within your own means, enterprises and businesses, try to do the best as you can," Vaishnaw added.
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PM Modi's 'Clarion Call'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for measures by citizens to overcome the challenges and to help the country emphasising that the Centre is trying to shield people from the adverse impact of war.
At a rally, he suggested measures, including judicious use of petrol and diesel, using metro rail services in cities, car pooling, maximum use of EVs, utilising railway services to send parcels, and working from home to save foreign exchange. Due to the war, prices of petrol and fertiliser increased a lot, he said. When there is pressure on the supply chain, difficulties increase despite various measures by the government to overcome the crisis, he said.
Stressing the need to save foreign exchange due to the crisis, Modi called for postponing the purchase of gold and foreign visits for one year. "We have to save foreign exchange by any means," he said. He also called for reducing consumption of edible oil, reducing use of chemical fertilisers, promoting natural farming and swadeshi products to save foreign exchange and to make the country self-reliant.
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