Amid a global fuel shortage and rising crude prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a visible step to promote fuel conservation by reducing the number of vehicles in his security convoy by half.
The shortage has been linked to the ongoing Israel–US conflict with Iran, which has pushed up international crude oil prices and disrupted oil tanker movement. This has led to constraints in petrol, diesel and cooking gas supplies across several regions.
In recent days, the Prime Minister had urged citizens to conserve fuel by prioritising public transport, avoiding unnecessary foreign travel, encouraging domestic tourism, and refraining from buying gold for the next year to help stabilise foreign exchange reserves. He also called on companies to adopt work-from-home practices and asked schools and colleges to consider online classes.
According to the Special Protection Group (SPG), the reduction in convoy vehicles does not dilute security, and all “Blue Book” protocols continue to be followed. Along with trimming the convoy, Modi has directed that electric vehicles be used in place of petrol vehicles where possible, while noting that there is no need to purchase new EVs for this purpose.
Several leaders have begun following the fuel-saving measures, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, other central ministers, and BJP chief ministers in states such as Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. In Delhi, some ministers have started using the Metro, while Uttarakhand minister Ganesh Joshi has reportedly switched from a luxury car to a two-wheeler for travel to the secretariat.
