The Delhi government on Thursday announced a series of fuel-saving measures, including mandatory work-from-home for government employees twice a week, reduction in official vehicle usage, and online meetings, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “smart spending” and conservation of fuel amid economic pressures arising from the ongoing West Asia conflict. 

Under the new directives, all Delhi government employees will work from home for two days every week. The government also said 50% of official meetings will now be conducted online to reduce travel-related fuel consumption. 

The Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will also revise office timings to ease traffic congestion during peak hours and lower fuel usage across the city. 

'No Car Day'

In another step, the government announced a reduction in the use of official vehicles. Petrol allocations for officers have been cut by 20%, reducing the monthly fuel cap from the existing 200 litres. To encourage greater use of public transport, the city government said Delhi will observe a “Metro Day” while citizens will also be encouraged to follow a voluntary “No Car Day” once every week. 

The government further said that no new vehicles will be purchased for the next six months as part of the austerity measures. 

58 special buses

To support public transport usage among government employees, 58 special buses will be operated across 29 government colonies for staff commuting to offices. 

The measures come days after the Prime Minister urged citizens to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, postpone foreign travel and overseas destination weddings, and avoid gold purchases for a year to conserve foreign exchange reserves. 

Addressing concerns arising from the ongoing West Asia war, Modi said global supply chains were already under stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, and the latest geopolitical tensions had aggravated economic challenges further. “We do not have major oil reserves. We import petrol, diesel and gas in large quantities. Due to this war, the prices of petrol, diesel, gas and fertiliser have gone up significantly,” Modi said, adding that the government has been attempting to shield citizens from the direct impact of rising global energy prices. 

The Prime Minister also called for the revival of work-from-home systems introduced during the pandemic, saying India needs to reduce foreign exchange outflows linked to energy imports. “We need to save upon the foreign currency used for purchase of energy needs. We will have to resolve not to buy gold jewellery for the next one year,” Modi said. 

The Delhi government said it will soon launch a public awareness campaign to encourage responsible consumption and fuel-saving practices among citizens.