India news: Cut fuel use, Modi says amid Iran war crisis

India has no plans for a raised tariff on gold and silver imports, a government source told Reuters news agency a day after Prime Minister Narendra ‌Modi called for people to buy less gold to stem the economic impact of the Iran war.

Modi on Sunday also called for people to conserve fuel, and limit travel and buying imported goods. Refraining from buying gold is meant to protect foreign exchange reserves.

There has been speculation that duties on gold could soon follow.

The last time India slapped tariffs on gold imports was in 2012 to 2013 to try and stabilize a depreciating rupee.

Black kites in Delhi, India, reveal a striking story of urban wildlife survival as thousands of raptors thrive above one of the world’s busiest cities. This report follows scientists tagging young birds high in the treetops, tracking how they adapt to shrinking green spaces, extreme weather and human activity. From centuries-old feeding rituals to sprawling landfill sites, these birds play a vital role in cleaning the city by consuming waste. But habitat loss and climate pressures threaten their future. A close encounter with a swooping kite becomes a powerful reminder of how humans and wildlife are tightly intertwined in the urban ecosystem.

The share prices of major jewelry companies sank in the early trade on Monday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on citizens to avoid buying gold for a year and help curb foreign exchange outflows.

Here's how jewelry stocks fared:

• Titan share price declined by 6.4%. 
• Kalyan Jewellers India shares plummeted 8.3%.
• Sky Gold stock price dropped 12.2%. 
• Senco Gold stock plunged 10.7%
• PC Jeweller shares were down 5%.

India is the world’s second‑largest consumer of gold, but relies almost entirely on imports to meet domestic demand. Gold plays a central cultural and economic role in India, particularly during the wedding season, where gold jewellery is considered an essential part of a bride’s attire and a traditional gift from family and friends.

Three suspects were arrested on Monday in connection with the killing of an aide of West Bengal's new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, police said.

Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath was shot in Madhyamgram city last week, just days before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was sworn into his new position on Saturday. Rath died of his injuries in the hospital.

Of those arrested, two people are from the state of Bihar, while one is from Uttar Pradesh. 

Adhikari had called the killing a "premeditated" murder in an earlier statement.

He claimed that Rath was targeted due to his proximity to the leader and his win against All India Trinamool Congress party's (TMC) Mamata Banerjee, who had been in power in the state for 15 years. 

The TMC has called for a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, stressing on a thorough and impartial examination of the case.

Over 10 million jobs could be impacted if Indians heed an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cut down on buying gold jewelry. That's the assessment of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council.

In an interview with news agency ANI, the national trade federation's chairman Rajesh Rokde said on Monday that gold jewelry had a deep cultural importance in India and any broad-based limiting of its purchase could affect employment and economic activity in the jewelry sector.

Rokde said that Modi asking people to cut down on purchasing gold over the next year was in the "national interest," adding that the prime minister might be referring to people who buy gold for investment.

He said that while he supports discouraging the purchases of bullion and coin for investment, the jewelry industry contributes around 7% to India's gross domestic product (GDP). 

"Any restriction on jewelry would raise a big question on unemployment," he stated, saying that more than 1 crore (10 million) people who work in this industry —  including artisans and showroom employees —  could be "impacted directly."

India's opposition parties on Monday denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's request to Indians to make lifestyle changes and help cushion the country from the economic repercussions of the Iran war, deeming the leader's move a "failure" of policy.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Indian parliament's lower house, said Modi's appeal was a "proof of failure".

"Yesterday, Modi ji asked the public to make sacrifices —  don't buy gold, don't go abroad, use less petrol, cut down on fertiliser and cooking oil, take the metro, work from home. These aren't sermons —  these are proofs of failure," the Congress leader wrote in Hindi on X.

"In 12 years, he's (Modi) brought the country to such a pass that the public now has to be told —  what to buy, what not to buy, where to go, where not to go. Every time, they shift the responsibility onto the people just so they can wriggle out of accountability themselves," Gandhi went on to say as he referred to the Modi government's tenure. 

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram questioned what triggered Modi's "very serious "directives".

"The Government must convene Parliament immediately & take the nation into confidence & inform us about the true state of affairs which has necessitated these 'appeals',"he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said Modi's call to the public was an "admission of failure" by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. 

He also questioned the timing of the prime minister's call to action, saying that the Middle East crisis suddenly "came to mind" for the government after the recently-concluded state elections. 

Two Indian nationals on board the Dutch vessel MV Hondius, which has been hit by a hantavirus outbreak, were evacuated to the Netherlands and are healthy and asymptomatic, the Indian embassy in Spain has said.

The two Indians were traveling as crew members, the embassy said in a press statement released Thursday, adding that they have been quarantined in the Netherlands under the relevant health safety rules.

The luxury cruise ship is anchored off the Spanish port of Granadilla in Tenerife.

The Indian Ambassador was in close contact with Spanish authorities and the affected nationals and was closely monitoring the situation to ensure their safety and well-being, the embassy added.

Follow our rolling updates on the Hantavirus-struck ship here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on the people of India to reduce their consumption of fuel, edible oil and save foreign exchange reserves with measures like cutting down on non-essential foreign travel.

Modi's appeal to the nation came on Sunday as a stalemate between the US and Iran over a peace proposal to bring the Iran war to an end continues —  and so do the worldwide supply chain disruptions triggered by the conflict.. 

What did Modi say?

Addressing a public meeting in Telangana's Hyderabad, Modi asked citizens to collectively participate and make lifestyle choices that could help the country deal with pressures from the Middle East crisis. 

The leader encouraged people to use public transport and electric vehicles.

"We have to reduce our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with metro lines, we should try to travel by metro... If we must use a car, then we should try to car pool," Modi said.

He also suggested getting back to the work-from-home culture that became the widely adopted norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that it would help the country use less fuel.

"During the coronavirus period, we developed many systems of work from home, online meetings, and video conferences, and we even became accustomed to them," the prime minister said,  adding that restarting these practices was in " national interest" and the "need of the hour".

Modi urged Indians to postpone unnecessary overseas travel, including for destination weddings, and avoid non-essential purchase of gold for at least one year to reduce the burden on foreign exchange.

"We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally," he said.

He called on families in India to reduce their cooking oil consumption, deeming the move ​as both healthy and patriotic.

"Patriotism is not only about the willingness to sacrifice one's life on the border. In these times, it is about living responsibly and fulfilling our duties to the nation in our daily lives," PM Modi said as he made his appeal.

India —  the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer — is one of few countries in the region that has not hiked retail petrol and diesel prices for domestic consumers or rationed supplies amid supply disruptions.

Prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the primary fuel used to heat stoves and ovens in Indian kitchens, have, however, been increased.

This is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW's studio in New Delhi, bringing you your daily capsule of all the news and events creating a buzz in India.

People in the country are waking up this Monday morning pondering how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to adopt austerity measures in the face of the global economic uncertainties —  brought on by the Iran war — could affect their day-to-day lives.

Modi has urged citizens to cut down on fuel use, revive Covid-era work from home arrangements and avoid unnecessary foreign travel to conserve foreign exchange reserves, among other proposed "nationally responsible" lifestyle changes.

Meanwhile, it's the first Monday in office for Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, who took the oath of office on Sunday, putting an end to a nail-biting political suspense on whether he would be able to gain the majority needed to form a government in the southern Indian state.

The actor-turned-politician has rewritten the script of Tamil Nadu's politics that saw a duopoly of Dravidian parties wield power for nearly 60 years.

Stay tuned as we unpack what India is talking about today.