India Stands Out as Only Major Economy with Declining Petrol and Diesel Prices
India has been the only major economy in the world where the prices of petrol and diesel have come down in recent years. Changes in prices of petrol and diesel in some major economies between November 2021 and April 2024 are as under:
|
|
%age Change in Prices between Nov-21 and April-24 | |
| Country | Petrol | Diesel |
| India (Delhi) | -13.65 | -10.97 |
| France | 22.19 | 20.17 |
| Germany | 15.28 | 16.47 |
| Italy | 14.82 | 17.38 |
| Spain | 16.58 | 18.14 |
| UK | 5.79 | 9.56 |
| Canada | 22.07 | 22.24 |
| USA | 19.08 | 20.25 |
Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
Changes in prices of petrol and diesel in some neighbouring economies between November 2021 and April 2024
| %age Change in Prices between Nov-21 and April-24 | ||
| Country | Petrol | Diesel |
| India (Delhi) | -13.65 | -10.97 |
| Pakistan | 44.98 | 43.65 |
| Bangladesh | 22.01 | 40.24 |
| Sri Lanka | 75.54 | 142.91 |
| Nepal | 31.08 | 35.70 |
Source: Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell
Government of India also took several other steps to insulate common citizens from high international prices, which included diversifying the crude import basket, windfall taxes on export of petroleum products, invoking the provisions of Universal Service Obligation to ensure availability of petrol & diesel in domestic market, increasing the blending of ethanol in petrol, etc.
Central Government reduced Central Excise duty by a total of Rs. 13/litre and Rs. 16/litre on petrol and diesel respectively in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022, which was fully passed on to consumers. Some State Governments also reduced state VAT rates to provide relief to citizens. In March, 2024, OMCs also reduced the retail prices of petrol and diesel by Rs. 2 per litre each and current RSP of petrol and diesel at Delhi is Rs. 94.72 and Rs. 87.62 per litre respectively.