Can't we afford higher fuel prices?

Wham-Bam it's election time, oh yeah! And the government has given out its first promise! Cheaper fuel if you make us win!

Now, let us sit on a vantage point.

Few quarters ago, the RBI was helping the severely bleeding Oil Marketing Companies by subsidizing fuel, that is, providing it at a lesser price, so that, in effect, the OMCs can give the "junata" cheaper fuel. Now that did not work out nicely, crude was too high, and the subsidies could not curtail the losses. If we look at the balance sheets of these companies, HPCL incurred a QUARTERLY loss of Rs. -3218.92 crores in September, as against a profit of 726 crores in the YEAR before (that includes another dismal quarter offsetted by RBI issuing bonds and previous quarters' profits). The total debt of HPCL itself is Rs. 16786.70 crores.

Now with that information, we move ahead. The media (read "news channels bickering for a price cut in fuels") is demanding cheaper fuel. The government is anyways making losses on LPG sales, and the PM of India rightfully denied fuel cuts a week ago on the very reason. We are lucky to have such a great PM at the centre. An economist as a PM is the best thing we could ask for- and have, in this economic crisis.

We ought to be more responsible, and should stop demanding lower prices for fuel. It is also true that not everyone can afford highly priced petrol and diesel. But is it also not true that the section of the society that cannot afford that can always use the public transport system? Instead of bickering for cheaper fuel, the media and the responsible citizens of this country should influence and encourage the usage of public transport and methods like carpooling and bicycle usage. The youth should step up and boyfriends should stop flurrying about the city on their bikes with their girlfriends in pillion if they cannot afford it.

If we step away from the economic side, and again think, there's another point to this as well.

Oil is a depleting resource. Fuel emissions harm us, and harm the environment as well. People should be discouraged from using private vehicles for every peccadillo of a situation. Public transport system should be improved and promoted. Fuel is not water. Amusingly enough, even water is scarce, nowadays.