Rising petrol and diesel prices are such a fixture of Indian life of late, that they have sparked their own sub genre of humour. Recent hik...
Rising petrol and diesel prices are such a fixture of Indian life of late, that they have sparked their own sub genre of humour. Recent hikes have made petrol and diesel prices touch record levels – even as consumers already suffer the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.
So why have fuel prices in India been rising in recent months? Here’s an explainer that breaks it down.
What has happened with fuel prices in India?
On June 8, India prepared to gradually lift its lockdown – the harshest coronavirus containment measure across the globe.
Just at that time, however, Union-government controlled oil marketing companies decided to start increasing the price of both petrol and diesel. Starting from June 7, fuel prices went up for a consecutive 22 days. In Delhi, the price of petrol increased by Rs 9.13 and diesel by Rs 11.1 in this period – an increase of 13% and 16%, respectively.
So remarkable was this price rise that for the first time ever, diesel became more expensive than petrol in some states (state-specific taxes mean each state in India has different fuel retail prices).
This price rise comes even as the Indian crude basket is seeing low prices. Priced at $71 per barrel at the start of FY 2019-’20, it stood at only $40.83 per barrel as of...
