As Indian fuel prices climbed in 2018, former Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) Chairman and Managing Director Radhey Shyam Sharma pressed the government to explain how it would protect consumers from further increases.
In a Sept. 11 interview with ET Now, Sharma said the government had not set out a plan for another rise in fuel prices. He expected crude oil to become more expensive as U.S. sanctions on Iran approached, but that was his forecast, not a government projection.
Government figures show how much prices had already changed. In Delhi, petrol rose from 77.49 rupees a liter on Aug. 20 to 82.06 rupees on Sept. 17, according to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). Diesel increased from 69.04 to 73.78 rupees a liter over the same period.
Sharma said petrol buyers, including two-wheeler riders and middle-class households, would bear higher costs directly. Taxi operators, he said, could pass diesel increases on to passengers through fares. His distinction focused on who would ultimately pay if fuel became more expensive.
The issue had also become a political flashpoint. Opposition-led protests over fuel prices took place on Sept. 10, Reuters reported. Reuters noted that earlier Indian governments had generally reduced fuel taxes when international oil prices rose.
The government announced an excise-duty cut of 1.50 rupees a liter for petrol and diesel on Oct. 4, effective Oct. 5. Parliamentary figures show that the resulting duty was 17.98 rupees a liter for petrol and 13.83 rupees for diesel.
