PM Modi denies report that Centre is planning foreign travel tax
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday denied a report that the Union government was planning to impose a tax on foreign travel amid the economic crisis triggered by the conflict in West Asia.
The prime minister’s denial on social media came after CNBC-TV18 reported on Friday that the cess would be imposed for one year to mitigate the impact of increased global crude oil prices and higher import costs.
The temporary tax proposal was being discussed at the “highest levels”, the news channel had reported.
Modi said that the report was “totally false”, adding that there is “not an iota of truth” to it.
“There is no question of putting such restrictions on foreign travel,” the prime minister said. “We remain committed to improving ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and ‘Ease of Living’ for our people.”
After Modi’s comments, CNBC-TV18 said that its report was “not accurate” and that it had been withdrawn.
This came five days after Modi called for austerity to withstand the economic headwinds created by the conflict.
On Sunday, Modi urged citizens to revive some work-from-home practices adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic and use public transport to reduce fuel consumption. These were among the measures he proposed to conserve India’s foreign exchange reserves.
Modi also urged the public to avoid non-essential foreign travel for a year and appealed to citizens to...