[zaphod]

With fuel prices set to rise again and petrol being affected the most isn't it time that the government tried implementing a 2 tier structure for diesel prices such as in the UK ?

In my opinion while diesel should continue to be subsidised for mass transport and carriage of goods , the price of diesel for personal vehicles should be on par with petrol - with the advantage of higher efficiency diesel will still be a viable fuel for those who drive a lot.

I think it's not fair that the advantage of subsidised diesel should be extended to personal vehicles .

So I think the government should implement 2 kinds of diesel - different in colour for checking and try (try being the important word in the Indian context) to ensure that only commercial vehicles have access to diesel at lower prices.

But would public opinion let this happen ? People buy diesel cars just because of the savings in fuel cost ... and the outcry would be huge ...but it needs to be done

[DCEite]

Definitly the need of the moment.
Look at Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi. A Luxury sedan giving mileage of 13kmpl with astounding performance is a reason enough that Diesel prices should be at par with petrol.
Especially with CRDi coming in all the vehicals, vibrations is no longer a BIG issue...

And for those Taxi wallas.. go get a LPG or CNG instead!

[GTO]

I agree Zaphod. Its an irony that a person on a Rs. 40,000 scooter pays more for a litre of petrol than someone in a Mercedes CDI next to him. Diesel subsidies must be waived off to everyone but the mass transport segment. I havent been to Delhi in a long time, but dont they have CNG buses plying already?

Dont you think this has crossed the mind of our authorities? The problem really lies with large-scale implementation and effectiveness.

GTO

[Mpower]

This sort of setup is very hard to implement in real life. With the kind of corruption that exists in India, forget it.

Even in France they sell some king of cooking fuel that is loosely related to diesel and guess what.....lots of people use it in their cars.
No wonder France was always No.1 in diesel marketshare even before the TDI revolution of the late 9

[Buffetfan]

in general subsidies breed corruption...why not remove all teh subsidies completely and then use the money thus saved to eradicate poverty.

1. Identify persons in India...this exercise is important to make sure that everyone has a registered identity and a number like the social security in US.

2. Do economic stratification. This will be easier once the identity cards are in place. the cards can be biometric so that the misuse / double use / two cards etc... is curtailed. Cost per such card can be Rs 200/ card and hence the entire exercise will cost around Rs 20000 crores or less.. Each card can have a linked bank account so that money from govt can be transferred there.
this will also ensure that instead of Passport/DL/Ration Card/Voters ID Card / SEBI MAPIN / PAN No etc etc...we can just have one card that can be endorsed for different activities...

3. Now use the stratification and identification to provide DIRECT subsidy in the form of money (in turn for doing somethign productive obviously) to the ones that really need it. This will ensure proper direction of subsidies instead of fritterign them away all over the place...

the question is...will we have the political will to do it..opacity means corruption and our politicians thrive in that....so they will never let it happen...and our dream of becoming a developed country will just remain that.....a dream for majority of our lives at least !!!!

[raja_ys]

u said it right brother. personal vehicles should not be given subsidised diesel price bc not only do they pollute more by emmisiions and sound, theres no reason why the govt should give concession to private vehicles

[Steeroid]

The problem with diesel pricing is that successive governments have painted themselves into a corner by not tackling the problem in time - ideally such a regime should have come up when the diesel-izing trend started, especially with the ambassadors.

By shutting its eyes so far, the Govt of India has made the use of diesel by passenger vehicles legal by default, a tactic that was used by Reliance Infocomm to gain a mobile license by the backdoor - change the law because too many people are breaking it...all the ministerial and government vehicles I have seen in Kerala run on diesel, so if they bring in a law to curb the misuse of subsidy the Government itself will be the biggest offender.

Despite all my misgivings, I went in for a diesel vehicle recently as I felt like a fool every time I went into a fuel station and lined up in the wrong queue - principles be damned.

[hell_rider]

with every successive hike, the difference in prices between petrol and diesel is getting less.
also with diesel pushing Rs.40 a liter now, something which would sounded ridiculous a couple of years back, do you think the price difference in real terms is merely academic, or rather, isn't as important as it used to be ?

just wondering.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by hell_rider

with every successive hike, the difference in prices between petrol and diesel is getting less.
also with diesel pushing Rs.40 a liter now, something which would sounded ridiculous a couple of years back, do you think the price difference in real terms is merely academic, or rather, isn't as important as it used to be ?

just wondering.

Diesel for 40 a litre? I still pay about Rs.33 for Turbo/Power/Speed Diesel, and I last paid nearly Rs.47 for a litre of Speed 93.

I used to think that the difference in price is getting lower and lower, till I started filling in Diesel myself. A trip to Bangalore used to cost me between Rs.5,500 and Rs.6,000 depending on the route I took, whereas the same would now cost me between Rs.3,500 and Rs.3,800 on my diesel vehicle...you work out the math.

[hell_rider]

i was under the (possibly incorrect) impression that diesel will be up to 39/litre with the latest price hike.

[msharma_79]

Now no need to get scared people but I have heard and I have been trying to find written document on the same but somebody read it in the news papers that Govt. is considering a gradual parity between Diesel and petrol for the simple reason that Diesel prices were subsidized for being used in Agro Industry but scenario today is changing because of serious interest shown by the car industry and customers all across segments.

Check if you can find any thing on the same and all. I am also trying.

This can have a serious affect on the auto industry.

Mods: I thought this is relevant topic hence I have put in here. Not trying to start any rumours, If need be please delete the thread.

[Mr.Bangalore]

please share the source or the link. that will help a lot to discuss further.

[pb10gagan]

dont worry.

out country has a huge number of corrupt netas owning large fleets of trucks and buses.

that day wont come.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by pb10gagan

dont worry.

out country has a huge number of corrupt netas owning large fleets of trucks and buses.

that day wont come.

Well said!! This was exactly the first thing that came to my mind when I read the thread title. So +10 to that!!!

[4x4addict]

This ain't happening any time soon, unless you want to cripple the economy with a major strike by commercial vehicle operators (taxis, trucks, buses).