PM Modi Dismisses Foreign Travel Tax Rumors Amid Economic Appeals

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dismissed a media report as 'totally false', which suggested that the Indian government was considering imposing a tax, cess, or surcharge on foreign travel. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he clarified, 'Not an iota of truth in this. There is no question of putting such restrictions on foreign travel. We remain committed to improving Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living for our people.'

The dismissed report had claimed that a proposal to levy additional charges on foreign travel was under consideration at the highest governmental levels. This report emerged shortly after the Prime Minister's appeal in Secunderabad, where he urged citizens to prioritize work from home, reduce fuel use, avoid foreign travel for a year, support Swadeshi products, reduce cooking oil consumption, shift to natural farming, and curb gold purchases.

Emphasizing the need to lessen import dependency, Modi highlighted that households should move towards natural farming and cut edible oil consumption to conserve foreign exchange and protect the environment. Citing the economic burden of fertiliser imports, he noted that India spends heavily on chemical fertilisers and called on farmers to minimize usage. Addressing fuel price volatility, the Prime Minister encouraged citizens to embrace public transport, car-pooling, railway goods transport, and electric vehicles wherever possible to cut down on petrol and diesel consumption.

(With inputs from agencies.)