New Delhi, May 13 -- India may need to increase retail fuel prices if the conflict in the Middle East drags on, Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said.

His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voluntary austerity, including cutting down on petrol and diesel use and putting off gold purchases, to preserve foreign exchange reserves. The duty on gold was more than doubled and more measures to curb demand for imported goods are likely, Bloomberg News reported earlier.

"If this is to continue for longer period of time, it is just a matter of time before the government will pass on some of the price increases," Malhotra said at a conference hosted by the Swiss National Bank and the International Monetary Fund in ...