00:00Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged citizens to avoid buying gold for a year,
00:06cut fuel consumption and conserve foreign exchange as rising global energy prices
00:11continue to strain the economy amid the Iran conflict.
00:15Disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up the costs of fuel,
00:19with much of India's energy imports passing through the corridor.
00:27Modi called for a return to work-from-home practices
00:30and urged households to rethink discretionary spending as economic pressures build.
00:35He said conserving foreign exchange must now be a national priority.
00:40Modi also asked people to cut back on edible oil consumption and reduce non-essential overseas travel.
00:47He further urged farmers to reduce their use of imported chemical fertilizers by up to half.
00:53India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil
00:57has so far avoided raising domestic fuel prices despite the global spike in energy costs.
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