The rising fuel price
Fuel prices are once again witnessing a steep hike. On Sunday the prices rose for the fifth straight day and the reason was once again cited as increase in rates due to firming international oil prices.
Petrol price in Delhi rose to Rs 83.41 per litre from Rs 83.13. Diesel rates went up from Rs 73.32 to Rs 73.61 per litre while as rates crossed Rs 90-mark for petrol and Rs 80 in case of diesel in Mumbai.
The hike on Sunday marked the fifth straight day of price hike and the 14th increase in rates since November 20 when oil companies resumed daily price revision after nearly two-month hiatus. Rates are now at the highest level since September 2018.
In 17 days, the petrol price has gone up by Rs 2.35 per litre and diesel rate has risen by Rs 3.15. Brent crude oil has risen 34 per cent from USD 36.9 per barrel on October 30 to USD 49.5 on December 4 – the last trading day – on hopes that COVID-19 vaccines would lead to demand recovery.
Prior to the November 20 hike in rates in India, petrol prices had been static since September 22 and diesel rates hadn’t changed since October 2.
The fuel prices are rising too fast and even though the economy is officially in recession, will the fresh hike mean additional burden for a common man. Does this imply that a common man is being pushed to the wall and the central government is filling its empty coffers?
The answer unfortunately is a big yes. As India is battling the coronavirus pandemic a revenue-starved Central government two months back hiked the excise duty by a record Rs 10 per litre on petrol and Rs 13 per litre on diesel. The hike effectively means that the Central government is collecting around 273 per cent taxes on the base price of petrol and 260 per cent in the case of diesel.
The fuel price rise and its impact on common man is visible immediately as prices of all the essential commodities rises instantly as prices of fuel records an upswing. This includes all our daily used items including vegetables and pulses besides rise and edible oils. The price rise at this juncture means additional burden for the already troubled common man who is overburdened by the crisis like situation that has risen out of the corona pandemic.
With economy too showing little signs of recovery the earnings for the common man have dried up tremendously and the price rise is only adding to his woes. With the government claiming a steep rise in GST and other tax collections, the government should have for the time being avoided any fuel price hike.
This continuous fuel hike move will impact a common man’s budget severely given the fact that very trading activity is being recorded in many places like that of Jammu and Kashmir. The government needs to step in these hard times and help the common man from being over burdened by the impact of fuel price rise.
Any additional burden for the commoners at this crucial juncture will only add to his ever increasing woes and this does not augur well for a country that claims to be working on the concept of a welfare state.
