- A source says Modi “significantly” reduced the size of the procession.
- PM demands electric vehicles in procession without new purchases: source.
- Modi’s smaller motorcade has the same security protocols.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “significantly” reduced the size of his motorcade to save fuel, a government source said on Wednesday, days after urging citizens to tighten their belts amid soaring energy prices triggered by the war in Iran.
Modi on Sunday called on people to adopt austerity measures, including avoiding unnecessary foreign travel, using public transport, reducing gold purchases and reducing their consumption of cooking oil, as soaring global energy prices put pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Following the call, some critics on social media questioned large motorcades of senior Indian politicians, Modi’s domestic flights and his upcoming visit to Europe on his official plane.
The number of vehicles in Modi’s motorcade was reduced while ensuring essential security features, in line with the protocol of the Special Protection Group guarding the prime minister, the source said, without specifying the actual size of the motorcade.
Modi enjoys the highest level of personal security in the country and his motorcade numbered about a dozen vehicles before the reduction.
Modi scaled back visiting motorcades this week in his home state of Gujarat and the northeastern state of Assam, the source said, adding that the prime minister had also requested that electric vehicles be included in his motorcade where possible, but without making any new purchases.
The source declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
India, the world’s third largest oil importer and consumer, relies heavily on the Strait of Hormuz, closed by the US-Israeli war against Iran, for its supplies of crude, liquefied natural gas and cooking gas.
Rising oil prices threaten to widen the country’s current account deficit, hurt growth and fuel inflation, while Washington and Tehran struggle to reach an agreement to end hostilities, more than a month after a tenuous ceasefire halted fighting.
India has so far avoided raising petrol and diesel prices, but an increase is seen as imminent due to the situation in the Middle East.
