West Asia War Hits Home: Are We Prepared? Fuel, Forex & Fertiliser Supply Numbers Explained

Last Updated:May 11, 2026, 5:32 PM IST

PM Modi made an unusual call for austerity by urging people to use public transport and opt for work from home, as the US-Iran war led to a sharp hike in global crude prices.

News18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called on citizens to adopt cost-cutting measures, such as avoiding gold purchases, working from home and postponing foreign travel, as India grapples with the economic fallout of the Iran-US deadlock in West Asia, which has made almost everything expensive.

The Prime Minister said the West Asia conflict has badly affected global oil supply chains. With oil prices rising, India is spending heavily to keep petrol and diesel prices stable for consumers. However, the situation is becoming financially unsustainable after the US rejected Iran’s response to its latest peace proposal.

ALSO READ: Govt Considering Fuel Price Hike Amid US-Iran Deadlock As Companies Face Massive Losses: Report

After PM Modi’s austerity call, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM) to discuss the crisis, which assured that there was no shortage of any petroleum product, but resources must be conserved as other countries have already taken emergency measures to reduce domestic consumption.

“Adequate stocks of petrol and diesel are available, and LPG supplies for domestic cooking purposes are being maintained. Over the past three days, 1 crore 26 lakh LPG cylinders have been delivered to households against 1 crore 14 lakh bookings. Similarly, sales of commercial LPG have exceeded 17,000 tonnes over the last three days,” said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

How Much Fuel Does India Have?

According to a statement by the Ministry of Defence, India currently has 60 days of crude oil supply, 60 days of Natural Gas and 45 days of LPG rolling stock. The government is already bearing a huge cost as international crude markets are facing high volatility amid the war in West Asia.

India is among the few countries where petroleum prices have been steady, even after over 70 days since the war began. 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 the first quarter of 2026 to ease the burden on consumers, as per the Defence Ministry.

India’s Foreign Reserves

The Prime Minister also urged people to avoid overseas holidays, destination weddings abroad and non-essential gold purchases for at least a year to ease the pressure on foreign reserves, with nearly Rs 1 lakh crore reportedly flowing out over the past 10 weeks due to higher import bills and global uncertainty.

India’s foreign exchange reserves currently stand at $703 billion, according to the Ministry of Defence. This is down from an all-time high of $728.5 billion hit in late February 2026. India spends foreign exchange mainly on imports, of which crude oil occupies the major share.

India’s gold imports also surged to a record $72 billion in the financial year 2025-26, a 24% jump compared with $58 billion in FY25. PM Modi’s focus on oil consumption and reduced gold purchases is an effort to reduce dollar outflows that can be used for essential energy imports.

Fertiliser Supply

PM Modi also urged farmers to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers by 50% and move towards natural farming practices. He said the practice would help protect soil health and reduce import dependence.

The IGoM was informed that fertiliser availability remains robust so far, with supplies continuing to exceed requirements. Government data shows overall stock position of fertilisers as follows:

India is also dependent on global supply chains to meet its fertiliser demands and is therefore exposed to geopolitical disruptions in West Asia. Around 33% of global fertiliser shipments, including urea and sulphur, transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The government’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said the fertiliser requirement in India for the Kharif season is at 390.54 LMT. India currently has 199.65 LMT, over 51%, significantly higher than the usual level of about 33%

Domestic production of fertilisers has also increased substantially from 76.78 LMT on March 1 to 92.01 LMT on May 10. The sale of fertilisers this year is also at 71.19 LMT, an increase of 19.35% from last year.

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