[GenuineOptimist]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

This is really what makes me sad and mad. How on earth is petrol a luxury item if majority of petrol use in India is 2-wheelers and A/B segment cars?? The government is hurting the class of people who can least afford this price hike!

Well - from the government's perspective a personal vehicle user is not a poor person. Please remember that 75% of population's monthly salary is less than what a petrol biker spends on fuel in a month!

When foodgrain inflation is about 10% it is more important to ensure public transportation remains cheap and doesn't create any further inflation

[mayjay]

Car companies with offering diesel variants will be having a good time. They were already taking advantage of the huge difference between diesel and petrol prices. As a sample, the ~1.3 lakh difference between diesel and petrol variants of the Ertiga. Petrol consumer pays at the pump, diesel consumer pays at the showroom.

On a somewhat related note, seems the Govt. is hell bent on running the country into the ground, with Fiscal mismanagement, Rupee depreciation, arbitrary back dated laws, corruption, zero reforms, to name a few of the successes of this govt.

Manmohanji brought liberalization to the country, only fitting that he should be the one to take us back to where we were pre '91.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by madnish30

It is very unfair to single out owners with bigger cars! And by the way - if there is a price hike in Diesel all essential commodities will also become more expensive! - food, goods, travel - everything! All transportation of everything is done on Diesel vehicles, would you want more expenses just so that Diesel car owners also share your pain!

I know it's unfair to single out the owners of diesel cars, be it of any size. But don't you think it's equally unfair to the common man whose car or bike/moped is running on petrol?

As you rightly pointed out, a hike in diesel prices will shoot the prices of everything including the basic commodities. But then there's a catch, how many Audi Q7s or Fortuners or XUVs transport-food, goods, or are used as public transport? None is my guess!

It's an unending debate...

[Y@SH]

Thank god I choose the TDI. The 1.3Lac discount on the TSI was too good to resist but keeping in mind rising crude rates I thought best to buy a diesel! People who have limited daily usage and who would generally opt for petrol will get more discounts on cars. Add to that people looking for a car in the preowned market (petrol) will get a higher benefit of getting a bigger car as the resale value of petrol cars would tumble

[MAS]

I just sold (two days back) my 11 year old Santro at a good price. Thank God for giving me the thought to sell it off. If i had waited another week, i would have lost atleast 10% of the value.

Does this mean Diesel cars are going to be more expensive?

[Berj79]

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[Cowardly Lion]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Sorry was just trying to understand. Maybe I need to check elsewhere for such information. Rant on!

No need to apologise. I get angry when i hear the phrase "subsidy on petrol" because that reminds me how the govt is funding their inane projects at the cost of the paying public. eg. PSU's buying luxury flats worth crores for their top brass - Commonwealth Games Village flats auction windfall for Delhi Development Authority - Times Of India

SBI is buying many for their people and then in the comfortable environs of these flats they will write off bad debts/accumulate bad unmarketable assets and give out good money to people of their own ilk.

Originally Posted by vikram_d

Time to buy a bike or move to Goa.

Move to Goa, I say! I'm sure everyone at my residence will approve.

[SAS]

Originally Posted by pratheekkunder

The reason they are not raising price for subsidized fuel(Diesel,Cooking Gas and Kerosene) is because the GOVT dont want the inflation to shoot up drastically.Petrol is considered as a luxury item in this Country, and thats its been increased so much.

But seriously, my thinking is that if you buy a vehicle you should be able to pay for its fuel.Govt shouldn't pay for it.

Very few country follow this subsidized fuel policy.

Sorry if I'm a bit too curt, but I find posts like yours very insensitive on petrol users. The question here is not just about petrol prices being increased but look at the bigger picture. How much diesel is actually used by farmers? Barely 13%. Rest is used by industry and public and private transportation. How much of LPG is used by the poor households? Just a fraction... If you are considering petrol as a "luxurious commodity", then why is aviation turbine fuel almost Rs. 15 cheaper than petrol per liter?? Why should the rich people be "subsidized" while poor commuters suffer?

The fact is that government needs to rationalize fuel prices, reduce subsidies on diesel and kerosene and remove it completely on LPG.

Petrol is not a luxury commodity. People use 2-wheelers extensively because the public transport is so shoddy. You're from Mumbai, you should be seeing this first hand.

A ridiculous fuel pricing policy only invites adulteration of expensive fuels while subsidized fuels are misused and wasted. Just take a look around on how many industrial establishments use diesel to power their gensets.

Personally I have a car running on CNG, hence my savings only increase as petrol prices increase. However I am also an avid biker and fuel prices are so irrational here in India that running my CNG Alto is now almost 20% cheaper than running my Yamaha SZ16. I can definitely feel the pain the average biker who does not have any other means of commuting shall go through :(

[Biraj]

And I purchased a T-jet in February. My sadist friends driving their Diesel hatch are enjoying it and I am trying to convince myself that yes, it was good decision to buy this wonderful car. First tints, now this. Come on Aam Janta caring government, you can do better.

I am now contemplating about using my T-jet only on weekends and start using my reliable Santro on weekdays.

[madnish30]

Originally Posted by Shivank

I know it's unfair to single out the owners of diesel cars, be it of any size. But don't you think it's equally unfair to the common man whose car or bike/moped is running on petrol?

As you rightly pointed out, a hike in diesel prices will shoot the prices of everything including the basic commodities. But then there's a catch, how many Audi Q7s or Fortuners or XUVs transport-food, goods, or are used as public transport? None is my guess!

It's an unending debate...

There are more Tata 406s running on Diesel in India than Audi Q7s. Also, there are small cars running on Diesel, as well as Audis etc running on Petrol. Just that two wheelers don't - only calls for innovation from manufacturers and/or mass shift from Bike to Nano Diesel as soon as it launches. Of course the hike is a big burden, but remember it will only go up, never down and rate of increase in Petrol will ALWAYS be more than Diesel - no wonder upto a year of waiting for Diesel cars and around 15% premium on them as well.

Fuels (either petrol or diesel) are scare commodities, expensive and their prices will only rise - the painful truth. Singling out owners of expensive cars and asking them to pay more just because they can afford to is totally unfair.

You can't price commodities based on spending capibilites, can you? What one can think of in the future is a petrol card for the poor - just like the ratio card. Nothing else.

[Irish]

There is a MAD rush outside petrol pumps in Delhi. The queues are much LONGER than CNG queue. Wanted to fill diesel but after seeing such long queue, I dropped the idea. So I was thinking that news must have got aired about petrol price hike.

I am sure that this hike will be reduced (may be by 30%-40%) after intervention of a famous ally of UPA government.

Cheers!
Irish

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by GenuineOptimist

Well - from the government's perspective a personal vehicle user is not a poor person. Please remember that 75% of population's monthly salary is less than what a petrol biker spends on fuel in a month!

When foodgrain inflation is about 10% it is more important to ensure public transportation remains cheap and doesn't create any further inflation

The marco economics works otherwise, because there is a 25% earning enough to spend, the rest 75% are still able to earn their living. In a indirect way the higher spending markets always create a mushroom of smaller economy around them.

Point in case, when the economic slow down happened only the IT sector in India was affected severly ( I know the lending rates were also increased and industry suffered, but that will complicate the example). This affected in companies cutting cost immediatly, lesser cabs were used, lesser coffee machines were supported, lesser team outing were allowed, only important and customer paid travel happened. So when the Job of a car owing 25,000 a month software guy is affected, it affects the cab driver, the vegetable seller, the road side chai wala, and everybody else that depend on the buying power of this 25K a month guy. Its counter productive in an capital market to spend less, or in other words force to spend less.

So when you earn less, its an automatic increase in the cost of what you buy (meaning % spending on income).

Take this case, now the petrol in BLR > 80, the next weekend trip in my Honda City might be affected, meaning the coconut seller on the highway side, the kamat resturant, the mechanic who fixes a flat tyre (assuming it happens), Coca Cola etc will have one customer less. When you sum that up for many more such "petrol price" affected customers of the dependent economy, the earning over all reduce. Economy is a balance it can't tilt only one way. So I do not see how this will not affect the low income citizens.

Well, that is why govt spending (atleast in US) gets a boost when the economy goes flat! Capitalism,work that way, that is why the rupee is at 55, the crude at 90$ and still we get a 10% increase in Petrol!

[kvish]

On one hand I end up paying more for petrol and on the other I end up paying for the subsidy of all the happy diesel campers! And if that wasn't enough, petrol prices are highest in Bangalore.

(no wonder the song...Lifu ishte ne is so popular )

[superutp]

I rushed out of my house to fill petrol at my fuel station opposite the road, barely 15 mins after the news came out. 15 cars, 20 bikes all waiting, went to another pump, the same story. Decided to come back home rather than wasting petrol on idling at 0kmpl.

This hike hits people like me however Ill somehow be able to negate the difference by eating/drinking out say 3 times less in a month, who it really hits are people on tight budgets who own nothing more than a two wheeler which is what the government doesn't understand. Petrol cannot be made into luxury commodity in a country where the people who majorly use it belong to the non-luxury class.

One question, will the petrol price in bangalore be existing 73.51+ 7.5= 81.01 or are there any more surprises in the form of taxes?

[GenuineOptimist]

Originally Posted by SAS

Sorry if I'm a bit too curt, but I find posts like yours very insensitive on petrol users. The question here is not just about petrol prices being increased but look at the bigger picture. How much diesel is actually used by farmers? Barely 13%. Rest is used by industry and public and private transportation. How much of LPG is used by the poor households? Just a fraction... If you are considering petrol as a "luxurious commodity", then why is aviation turbine fuel almost Rs. 15 cheaper than petrol per liter?? Why should the rich people be "subsidized" while poor commuters suffer?

The fact is that government needs to rationalize fuel prices, reduce subsidies on diesel and kerosene and remove it completely on LPG.

Petrol is not a luxury commodity. People use 2-wheelers extensively because the public transport is so shoddy. You're from Mumbai, you should be seeing this first hand.

A ridiculous fuel pricing policy only invites adulteration of expensive fuels while subsidized fuels are misused and wasted. Just take a look around on how many industrial establishments use diesel to power their gensets.

Personally I have a car running on CNG, hence my savings only increase as petrol prices increase. However I am also an avid biker and fuel prices are so irrational here in India that running my CNG Alto is now almost 20% cheaper than running my Yamaha SZ16. I can definitely feel the pain the average biker who does not have any other means of commuting shall go through :(

Removing subsidies on diesel, kerosene and LPG will happen in 2020 or 30. Bigger picture doesn't mean we compare apples to oranges. Aviation fuel cost and industrial DG sets are out of topic for this discussion because the airline and power situation is also shoddy. IMHO guys in Bangalore where public transportation is decent, still use luxury items like petrol bikes and Alto cars because of personal convenience.