India must be the only country in the world where excise duty and other levies must be more than the cost of petrol. When international crude prices were decreasing in the past over a period of time, the government did cut prices of petrol and diesel but the same was neutralized or compensated by increasing excise rates on fuel which means consumers did not benefit much with the fall in fuel prices. But now that the crude prices are climbing north, the government is consistent in their policy of increasing fuel prices but sadly nothing is being done to adjust the ‘excise’ component which they had tampered with when crude was falling.
In a democratic set up, government policy needs to be consistent and the interest of the citizens should be paramount. The biggest problem facing the country today is inflation which would not come down if fuel prices are artificial and unreasonable. Corruption rules roost in our country with scams and malpractices have become the order of the day. Administration needs revenues which is then made good by looting citizens in broad daylight in gimmicks such as fuel hike which in normal scenario would not be required if the government is run in an atmosphere of honesty and fairness. Time for the Modi government to be realistic and keep fuel prices in accordance with international crude rates. Our economy would become healthy if the purchasing power of the people goes up and that can only happen if government policies are fair and beneficial for the people!
S.N. Kabra
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
