File photo of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) member Gourav Vallabh. | Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Indians to rationalize fuel consumption, refrain from buying gold for a year and work from home are “calls for intelligent substitution of consumption” of goods that make up a large part of India’s import bill and affect the current account deficit (CAD), according to Gourav Vallabh, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM).
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Vallabh said there was “no ban on anything, no need to panic” as the Prime Minister’s call for a judicious change in consumption patterns was an appeal above all else.
According to Mr Vallabh, there are three major geopolitical pressures shared around the world – the conflict in West Asia, the slowdown in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-China clash, which has hit commodities directly.
Oil and gold
“In the Indian context, we need to see all three overlaid on our import accounts. The two largest items in that account are oil and gold. The numbers from FY26 show that we imported oil and gold worth about ₹ 11,000,000 ₹ 6.5 lakh (total), which was about ₹7, $1,000,000 per barrel of oil. It is now, after two-and-a-half months of war, at $105 without showing at the petrol stations, the foreign exchange outflow on these two items alone rose to ₹ 22-23 lakh crore to make up the gap, PM Modi appealed for intelligent replacement of these consumables if possible,” he said.
“If we can reduce our forex outflow by 10% per annum with this particular board, we will save almost ₹ 2.5 crore in foreign exchange outflow (per annum),” he said. “Prime Minister Modi’s appeal is for intelligent, intelligent substitution of consumption of goods that has an impact on foreign exchange. In a geopolitical crisis where there is a lot of uncertainty, the message is that there are certain measures that are in the people’s own hands,” he said.
Prolonging the war
He added that earlier the war in West Asia was expected to end in March or later in April, but now a situation of uncertainty about the outcome prevails. “If this continues long-term, then naturally the world will find its own way, the routes will be recalibrated, but at the moment, not only fuel or gas, almost everything is subject to supply stress and high prices, from laptop parts, for cars, etc.,” he said.
Despite the difficult situation, he sounded optimistic about the growth prospects of the Indian economy and emphasized that there was no need to panic. “Most of the agencies that deal with these issues like the Reserve Bank of India, the World Bank and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) are predicting that the Indian economy will grow by 7% of GDP or more this fiscal year. No other country is growing at the rate we are growing right now in terms of major economies,” he said.
Published – 14 May 2026 19:57 IST
