Its almost perplexing to see the rising petroleum prices everyday and the loud silence from the Government regarding the same. While the industry had just started recovering from the GST and Demonetization decisions, the falling Dollar and rising Petrol-Diesel Prices are sure to dent aspirations of common man on the back foot.
As of this morning Petrol costs Rs 80.50 per litre in Delhi and Rs 87.89 per litre in Mumbai. Diesel, similarly is at Rs 72.61 and Rs 77.09 in Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
There is no way that this will not effect the supply chain of all goods – including essentials. The Inflationary pressures on the economy are already building up. almost everything we consume is destined to become costlier, with bottom of pyramid geared to suffer all the more.
While opposition is all geared up to take advantage of the price rise in upcoming poll season, the fact that much of this was coming for a long while and government did nothing to stop it.
The Modi government – though continues to believe that the things will actually turn for better. The government seems to believe that the lower INR rates to USD will make Indian exports more competitive. The basic logic is that the input costs for an export product will remain same in India, so a 13% lesser cost to Dollar will enable exporters to market their product at 10% discount making Indian exports attractive. The only problem is that government’s greed on the petroleum taxation may cause a cycle of price rise that may actually raise the input costs instead of cooling them.
Government needs to fix this problem real soon. The electorate – especially the one which supports BJP – is never kind to people who tax them out of their hard earned money. With the elections coming all Modi Needs to do is to follow Sushma Swaraj’s 2013 advice on price rise – at least make the taxation a number and not a percentage. But then who will fund Bharatmala?
