With petrol prices reaching unprecedented levels in India, What can the Govt. do? What can we do? What do I plan to do..
After getting a car, I have rarely used my motorcycle to commute or go shopping with my wife. Probably it’s good for the biker in me, since now I view motorcycling as a leisure/pleasure activity and not just merely for commuting. But with petrol prices hitting record highs, how long can we afford to take pleasure burning the precious resource?
In my early teen days (early 1990’s), I occasionally used to accompany my dad to the neighborhood petrol pump to tank up our Bajaj Scooter.
The 1990-91 was also the time of the Gulf war, when Saddam Hussain had invaded Kuwait. For the first time in human history, people watched the the war almost live on cable TV (courtesy CNN). But more significantly what followed the Gulf war was a sharp rise in Global petrol prices.
Back in those Gulf War days I faintly remember my dad shelling out around 22-25 odd rupees for a litre of petrol (along with the 2T Oil).
Flash forward 2011 and the petrol prices are now around the Rs. 60 per litre mark..!!
Nearly 200% increase in petrol prices in the last 20 years..!! And one thought that the Gulf war was bad enough..!!
The price rise has been most steep in the last couple of years. Given the current state of affairs, I suspect the price of petrol in India will touch the Rs. 100 per litre mark in 4-5 years time very easily.
Why is the price of petrol rising so rapidly in India?