Modi urges Indians to buy less gold as war strains rupee
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to buy less gold and take fewer foreign holidays as the Iran war and oil shocks weigh on the rupee. The plea aims to preserve dollar reserves under growing macroeconomic strain.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to slow purchases of gold and to take fewer foreign holidays, the BBC reported, as the Iran war and surging oil prices strain the rupee. Modi framed the appeal as part of a national effort to ease pressure on the country's external accounts.
India is one of the world's largest gold importers, with a significant share of household savings held in physical metal. Outbound tourism adds another roughly 40 billion dollars in annual foreign-exchange outflows, putting both items high on the list of contributors to the current-account gap.
Reserve Bank of India figures show the rupee has weakened about 7 percent against the dollar since the Iran conflict began in February. Modi's intervention is read as a behavioural nudge to conserve reserves without imposing formal import curbs, with policy options still on the table.
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