Modi calls out ‘sources’ in CNBC-TV18 report about tax on foreign travel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday went on X to rebut a source-based media report by CNBC-TV18 claiming that the government "at highest levels" was considering imposing a levy on foreign travel. 

Modi said on his personal X account: “This is totally false. 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.”

According to the CNBC-TV18 report, the proposal to charge a cess, tax or surcharge on foreign travel was to “mitigate higher crude and import costs” due to the conflict in West Asia, and that such a levy would temporarily remain in place for one year.

The publication has since withdrawn the story. 

These developments follow Modi’s appeal earlier this week to conserve foreign exchange amid rising import costs stemming from the West Asia crisis. He urged Indians to cut back on overseas travel and international destination weddings; to use the metro, public transport, and carpooling more; to reduce edible oil consumption; to urge farmers to reduce dependence on imported chemical fertilisers; and to avoid buying gold for a year.

The irony is hard to miss. In the early days of the conflict in West Asia, unnamed ‘government sources’ were assuring the media that India was in a “comfortable position” on fuel security — with ANI, India Today, and NDTV all carrying near-identical source-based reassurances on March 6 alone that crude, LPG, and other fuel stocks were adequate despite the conflict blocking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Within days, reality intervened, and the Centre was forced to invoke the Essential Commodities Act to keep cooking gas flowing. It is against this backdrop that Modi’s unusual decision to personally rebut a source-based report carries a particular sting. 

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