India on Saturday tightened restrictions on imports of most silver products as the government seeks to curb its import bill and support the weakening rupee.

Under a May 16 notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, several silver product categories were shifted from the "free" to the "restricted" import category.

Imports of silver bars containing 99.9% or more silver by weight, along with other categories of silver bars, will be subject to regulations set by the Reserve Bank of India.

The Indian government has been urging citizens to cut down on the purchase of precious metals such as gold and silver, which are mainly imported into the country. This is aimed at easing the pressure on foreign exchange reserves amid surging oil prices due to the Middle East crisis.