New Delhi: Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on two successive days asked citizens to adopt austerity measures amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday (May 12) said that there is no fuel supply shortage in the country, without ruling out the possibility of a fuel price hike.While Modi has called for an end to foreign travel and buying gold for a year; and reducing petrol and diesel use by means like carpooling, using the metro, working from home, holding virtual meetings and even conducting school online, Puri said that the prime minister’s statements are borne out of the fiscal situation that calls for Indians to look at their “lifestyle”, while pointing to losses incurred by the oil companies.“There are myths going around. India has refused to take LNG imports from Russia. India has never imported LNG from Russia at all. Or that a major lockdown is coming in the country. This false narrative needs to be debunked,” said Puri while speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit.“We haven’t raised prices for the last four years. Somebody said elections are over now and prices will rise. After 2022, there have been general elections, so many state elections. It is not my case that prices will not go up but I am saying the two are unrelated.”Even as Modi has called for austerity measures to reduce fuel consumption, Puri said that despite the crisis in West Asia, India’s energy consumption has gone up and there have been “no dry outs” and that “LPG supply is more than enough”.Puri said that while the country is facing the reality of the closure for the first time of the Strait of Hormuz, from where 20% of global energy was sourced – including 85% of India’s imports of crude and about 60% of LPG – domestic production has increased from 35,000-36,000 million tonnes (MT) per day to 54,000 MT/day.“Tell me any one country where [fuel] prices have remained the same and there has been no shortage anywhere. In spite of the best efforts of some people in trying to black-market and spread rumours. During this crisis, our energy consumption has gone up,” he said.“Petrol consumption has gone up by 6%. There have been no dry outs. Every petrol pump in the country has had petrol and diesel, LPG supply is more than enough. We have done some good things. We have ramped up LPG production. We have brought consumption down a little, but that is due to weather also. It used to be 90,000 MT/day; today it is 75,000. The good news is we are no longer import-driven.”Puri said that there is “no problem” on the supply management side or any shortage anywhere.“There is no problem on the supply management side, no shortage anywhere. We have 60 days of LNG and 45 days of LPG reserves available. So there is no problem on the supply side,” he said.His statement on Tuesday comes after Modi on both Sunday and Monday urged citizens to undertake austerity measures including reducing petrol and diesel use, work from home where possible, postpone foreign travel and gold purchases for a year, and rely more on domestic products to conserve foreign exchange.Puri however said that what Modi had said was borne out by the statement made by the US President Donald Trump that the ceasefire between Iran and Israel is on “life support”.“Please see what the honourable prime minister is saying. It is borne out by the fact that the leader of the largest economy is saying the ceasefire is on “life support” and that the country’s fiscal situation needs to be looked at for lifestyle changes.”“What he is saying is that time has come for us to look at our lifestyle,” said Puri referring to Modi’s statements.“It is not that any lockdown is taking place. If you look at the fiscal situation, if you look at the fact that the oil companies are losing Rs 1,000 crore everyday, that under recovery is Rs 198,000 crore; the losses are Rs 1 lakh crore. In that context, how long can you keep it like this? Oil has gone from $64 or $65–has gone up to $115 in that basket. Isn’t it time for all of us? But the fact that you can have this gathering, many people have flown in, many people are on the roads, I don’t see any energy problem,” he said.Puri’s statement comes as government as NITI Aayog is learnt to have advised the Union government to halt all major construction work across India for two years, including the demolition and reconstruction of the Nirman Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan and Shastri Bhavan ministerial complexes, The Tribune reported on Monday.Meanwhile the rupee depreciated 35 paise to a record low of 95.7375 against the US dollar on Tuesday before closing at 95.6275.Meanwhile, also speaking at the same CII summit, economist Robert Koopman, former chief economist at the World Trade Organisation, said India could face a 17% hit to its GDP by 2050 in a scenario of complete global trade fragmentation, far higher than the projected 3% loss for the US.