Modi’s austerity pitch: Skip the foreign trip, the destination wedding, and maybe that gold necklace too

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a message for Indians riding high on 7.8 per cent growth: leave the passport at home, the wedding venue local, and the gold in the shop window.

In an early video message on Tuesday, Modi told citizens in Hindi: “Foreign trips, if you are going for leisure, you should not go. If you are getting married abroad, you should not do so. And if it is not necessary, you should not buy gold either.” The prescription, he said, was all in service of a bigger goal, a “developed India” by the time the country turns 100.

It’s not a new appeal. Modi made a similar pitch in May, when the Strait of Hormuz was in turmoil following US-Israel attack on the US in February, and he urged Indians to go easy on fuel, flights and gold. This time the backdrop is rosier, strong growth numbers rather than a rattled oil market, but the message is much the same: buy Indian, stay home, save the gold for later.

Modi also took aim at unnamed critics “drowned in an atmosphere of despair” spreading what he called “jhooth ki goonj,” or an echo of lies, a line widely read as directed at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Chhatron Ki Goonj” student campaign.

The remarks came from Bishkek, where Modi is attending the SCO summit alongside Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, PM Shehbaz Sharif and a full house of world leaders, a reminder that some foreign trips remain non-negotiable.