Petrol costlier in India than in US, Pakistan

New Delhi: Petrol prices in India are costlier than the US but cheaper than European countries, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh said.     

Petrol in Delhi is priced at Rs 63.70 a litre, while the same in USA is priced at Rs 42.82 per litre. The price in India is more than any of its neighbours -- Pakistan (Rs 41.81 a litre), Sri Lanka (Rs 50.30 per litre), Bangladesh (Rs 44.80 a litre) and Nepal (Rs 63.24 per litre). 

But the rate in Delhi is cheaper than France (Rs 94.97 per litre), Germany (Rs 95.99 a litre), the United Kingdom (Rs 96.39 per litre) and Italy (Rs 96.79 a litre), he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha here.

Higher rates for petrol in India are due to higher incidence of taxes. Without taxes, petrol would cost Rs 23.37 per litre in Delhi.

The diesel price in Delhi, at Rs 41.29 per litre, is cheaper than in the US and European nations, but costlier than Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Without taxes, diesel would cost Rs 24.9 a litre.

The current price of diesel in Delhi is Rs 4.97 a litre below its actual cost. 

In the US, diesel is priced at Rs 45.84 a litre, while in France, it costs Rs 69.87 per litre.

In Germany, diesel costs Rs 72.54 a litre, while it is priced at Rs 82.93 a litre in the UK and Rs 74 per litre in Italy.

In the neighbourhood, diesel is priced at Rs 46.70 a litre in Pakistan, Rs 45.38 a litre in Nepal, Rs 34.37 a litre in Sri Lanka and Rs 27.32 per litre in Bangladesh.

Singh said the PDS kerosene price of Rs 14.83 a litre in Delhi was the lowest in the region, with the cooking fuel priced at Rs 44.06 per litre in Pakistan, Rs 24.67 in Sri Lanka, Rs 27.32 in Bangladesh and Rs 45.38 a litre in Nepal.

Similarly, the domestic LPG rate of Rs 399 per 14.2-kg cylinder is lower than the price tag of Rs 757.04 in Pakistan, Rs 863.40 in Sri Lanka, Rs 469.24 in Bangladesh and Rs 819.60 in Nepal.

The price of kerosene is subsidised by Rs 23.74 a litre and LPG by Rs 247 per cylinder in India.    

Singh said oil marketing companies pay a Trade Parity Price (TPP) for the purchase of petrol/diesel and Import Parity Price (IPP) for the purchase of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG.     

"The IPP/TPP are determined based on prices prevailing in the international market," he said. "Further, the retail selling prices of sensitive petroleum products for the consumers is calculated by adding the inland freight, marketing margins and duties and taxes to the price paid to refinery."

The government controls prices of diesel, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG to insulate the common man from the impact of rising oil prices in international markets, he added.

AMTS, BRTS report noticeable rise in number of commuters after petrol price hike

Ahmedabad: The recent hike in petrol prices has made travelling by private vehicles unaffordable. It has forced many people in the city to switch to public transport for their commuting needs. This is evident from the jump in the number of people using monthly bus passes issued by the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) after the petrol price hike. Officials of the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) speak of a similar increase in the number of people using the service.

Sources in the AMTS said that between mid-April and mid-May, a total of 15,737 monthly bus passes (excluding students passes) issued by the transport service were in use. But after the Rs5 hike in petrol prices announced on May 14, the number of monthly AMTS passes in use jumped to 18, 674.

This is 2,937 more than the number of passes in use before the increase in petrol prices.

"We have seen a substantial increase in the number of monthly pass holders, thanks to the petrol price hike," said an official.  BRTS officials speak of a similar jump in the number of passengers using the rapid transport system. Officials said the number of people using the service on a daily basis had gone up by over 10,000 after the May 14 hike in petrol prices. Prior to that, 1, 10,000 passengers used the BRTS daily.

"After the petrol price hike, the number of passengers commuting by the BRTS on a daily basis rose to 1, 22,000," a BRTS official said. He added that the BRTS had to increase the frequency of buses on existing routes and introduce more buses to deal with the rise in the number of passengers.

One commuter, Parth Patel, told how the petrol price hike had forced him to change his mode of transport. "The distance between my office and my residence is a few kilometers, which is used to go by my bike. But after the hike in petrol prices, I decided to walk some of the distance and then catch a bus to reach the office. This has helped me save a lot of money," he said.