A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to reduce fuel consumption by opting for public transport and urged establishments to consider Covid-time measures like work from home, the government on Monday clarified that the PM’s message was in the spirit of collective citizen participation in dealing with the West Asia crisis and not a reflection of inadequacy of resources.After the meeting of a group of ministers on the West Asia response, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said there is no shortage of any petroleum product in the country.”India has 60 days of crude oil, 60 days of natural gas and 45 days of LPG stock. Present conservation efforts are intended towards long-run capacity building,” he said.After the PM called upon citizens to avoid non-essential gold purchase for a year to ease the burden on foreign exchange reserves, Singh said foreign exchange reserves stand at a comfortable $703 billion.”India is the world’s third largest oil refiner and fourth largest exporter of petroleum products, exporting to over 150 countries and is meeting domestic demand in full. But there is a huge cost being borne by the nation as international crude prices very high. Fuel conservation can ease this burden. PM Modi’s appeal to the people for collective participation to help the country deal with global economic disruptions, supply chain challenges and rising prices caused by international conflicts has, thus, emphasised prudence in usage of petroleum products and reducing wasteful consumption, so that the fiscal burden on the nation is reduced,” Rajnath said.The estimated under-recovery on account of selling petrol, diesel and LPG below the cost price for consumer convenience currently is Rs 30,000 crore a month.”This burden can be eased by efficient use of available fuel stocks,” the government has said, adding that there was no shortage of fuel, fertilisers or any other essential commodities.India is among the few countries where petroleum prices have held steady through this period of global volatility even after more than 70 days since the conflict started.”In many nations, prices have increased by 30 to 70 per cent. However, India’s oil marketing companies have absorbed losses of close to Rs 1,000 crore a day, with under-recoveries running to nearly Rs 2 lakh crore in Q1 ’26 so that the burden of global astronomical prices is not passed on to the Indian citizens. There is no reason for anxiety, and no reason for people to rush to retail outlets,” Rajnath said.The Ministry of Information also said that the spirit in which the PM made the appeal has to be factored in.”The PM called for collective participation to help India face global economic disruptions, supply chain challenges and rising prices. He spoke of the need for citizens to live responsibly. The idea is to ensure optimum and efficient utilisation of available resources. It is not that there is shortage,” C Senthil Rajan of the Information Ministry said.