Did India lose credibility when the “cheap” Russian oil did not result in reduced prices at petrol stations for the common man ?

[rangeelaraja]

Our narrative and argument that we will buy the cheapest oil available ( be it Russian ) to benefit the Indian consumer ( said many times by Hardeep Singh Puri ji and S. Jaishankar ji ) has lost all credibility abroad because the end consumers are not paying lower prices at the petrol pumps. 
 

It has only helped 2-3 large Petro organizations ( BPCL, Indian Oil, and RIL ) shore up their profit margins. 
 

Had the prices been reduced proportionately for the common man - we would have had a very strong moral case. 
 

Here is where RIL being a private firm is caught in the eye of the storm. 
 

But even PSUs like BPCL and Indian oil have raked in huge profits. 

Edited August 21, 2025 by rangeelaraja

[Lone Wolf]

51% of its shares goes to PSU's... In a nutshell it is playing it's part in funding ladli behnas 

[coffee_rules]

In addition they are mixing ganne ka ras (ethanol), Gadkari is not giving back the savings to the endusers.  Public engine bhi kharab kar rahi hain, aur same indhan bhi istamaal kar rahi hain. MC (Middle-class) ko pelo.

[ravishingravi]

3 hours ago, rangeelaraja said:

Our narrative and argument that we will buy the cheapest oil available ( be it Russian ) to benefit the Indian consumer ( said many times by Hardeep Singh Puri ji and S. Jaishankar ji ) has lost all credibility abroad because the end consumers are not paying lower prices at the petrol pumps. 
 

It has only helped 2-3 large Petro organizations ( BPCL, Indian Oil, and RIL ) shore up their profit margins. 
 

Had the prices been reduced proportionately for the common man - we would have had a very strong moral case. 
 

Here is where RIL being a private firm is caught in the eye of the storm. 
 

But even PSUs like BPCL and Indian oil have raked in huge profits. 

 

Sounds like US establishment argument. Whether you pass on lower prices or you earn profit , receive higher taxes and pass off as subsidies, Indian benefit. Its important to remember that most of this oil was refineries and not for local consumption. Not to mention that this arbitrage was largely keeping the Oil prices in check for the world.

[rangeelaraja]

12 minutes ago, ravishingravi said:

 

Sounds like US establishment argument. Whether you pass on lower prices or you earn profit , receive higher taxes and pass off as subsidies, Indian benefit. Its important to remember that most of this oil was refineries and not for local consumption. Not to mention that this arbitrage was largely keeping the Oil prices in check for the world.

 

It's not that difficult. The question is very simple. With the lower cost of oil import from Russia , did it benefit the Indian consumers as is being repeatedly claimed - for our people blah blah blah… ? The answer is very simple. It's either a yes or no, right?
 

If it's no, then we should stop all this bullshit pretense. Okay? And if most of the profits are going to a private company, then this is a question that we as citizens should ask. How is it benefiting the country at large?

[randomGuy]

38 minutes ago, ravishingravi said:

 

Sounds like US establishment argument. Whether you pass on lower prices or you earn profit , receive higher taxes and pass off as subsidies, Indian benefit. Its important to remember that most of this oil was refineries and not for local consumption. Not to mention that this arbitrage was largely keeping the Oil prices in check for the world.

Few more points 

1. Generally it's good to tax the commodity which you import and not give it cheaply coz people will consume more and your import bill rises.

2. At the start of COVID oil prices went to 0 and during Russia Ukraine war start, they went 100+ usd per barrel, GOI controlled domestic prices at both points as it is controlling now as part of its job.

3. International Oil price has probably has only 30% effect on domestic petrol prices...rest of the price is taxes, transport and refining cost....so the effect isn't as much as OP believes...

[G_B_]

India imports oil.

 

Dont tax oil = more imports = trade imbalance.

 

 

[Number]

It wasn't that much cheap except for a short while. Good thing was despite global uncertainties Indian prices have remained stable in last 3 years.

 

[singhvivek141]

Its upto state govt taxes as well.

UP, the petrol is 93-94, similar in Goa.

 

Telangana its 107-108, so does Kerala. Karnataka its around 103-104, TN close to 100.

 

If in Telangana the prices were around 97...I would easily be able to save 10 rupees per liter. 30 liter car petrol helps me drive for a week. That means I could have saved 300 rupees per week and approx 1200/month.

 

3 extra plates of biryani 

 

 

[bharathh]

We need the money for all the freebies + interest payments we need to make on existing loans. IMO, the prices would have shot up to 150-200 if it wasnt for this - so it's not like we didn't benefit at all.

 

I shudder to think what will happen on the roads if petrol becomes cheap. 

[randomGuy]

54 minutes ago, bharathh said:

We need the money for all the freebies + interest payments we need to make on existing loans. IMO, the prices would have shot up to 150-200 if it wasnt for this - so it's not like we didn't benefit at all.

 

I shudder to think what will happen on the roads if petrol becomes cheap. 

Yes, pollution, road congestion are 2 more good points why petrol shouldn't be cheap!!

[kepler37b]

8 hours ago, randomGuy said:

Few more points 

1. Generally it's good to tax the commodity which you import and not give it cheaply coz people will consume more and your import bill rises.

2. At the start of COVID oil prices went to 0 and during Russia Ukraine war start, they went 100+ usd per barrel, GOI controlled domestic prices at both points as it is controlling now as part of its job.

3. International Oil price has probably has only 30% effect on domestic petrol prices...rest of the price is taxes, transport and refining cost....so the effect isn't as much as OP believes...

The real variable is how much cheaper is russian oil. Chat GPT says following

Time Period	Discount (USD/barrel)	Approx. Percentage
Early FY23 (~2022–early 2023)	$12–20	~15%+
Mid-2023	~$4	—
FY24 (early period)	~$6.8	—
August 2025	~$3	5–7%

 

 

So right now the difference is just 5-7%.  Whatever profit that was squeezed is already done.

[ravishingravi]

2 hours ago, randomGuy said:

Yes, pollution, road congestion are 2 more good points why petrol shouldn't be cheap!!

 

Plus when you are pushing for EV transition, it doesn't make sense to make petrol cheaper. 

 

Then it's just about managing the fiscal. It's easier to pass on this benefit. It is more difficult to withdraw. 

[randomGuy]

1 hour ago, kepler37b said:

The real variable is how much cheaper is russian oil. Chat GPT says following

 

Time Period	Discount (USD/barrel)	Approx. Percentage
Early FY23 (~2022–early 2023)	$12–20	~15%+
Mid-2023	~$4	—
FY24 (early period)	~$6.8	—
August 2025	~$3	5–7%

 

 

So right now the difference is just 5-7%.  Whatever profit that was squeezed is already done.

Russia Cost of oil production is 44 usd per barrel... they can afford to give discount even at 50 usd oil ....but today at 60 usd oil, they are giving only 3 usd discount.

[MechEng]

13 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

In addition they are mixing ganne ka ras (ethanol), Gadkari is not giving back the savings to the endusers.  Public engine bhi kharab kar rahi hain, aur same indhan bhi istamaal kar rahi hain. MC (Middle-class) ko pelo.

 

Adding to your point, a lot here are in the belief that there is an existence of goodwill where private players pay their commodity taxes diligently.

 

Do not underestimate the ability of Indian CAs to game the system.

[cowboysfan]

India is transforming into a runaway welfare state,the money has to come from somewhere 

[Lord]

5 hours ago, cowboysfan said:

India is transforming into a runaway welfare state,the money has to come from somewhere 

Yes middle class is being punished from all corners especially salaried. All to fund revdis for poor and give huge loans to super rich 

[pkmmamks]

10 hours ago, ravishingravi said:

 

Plus when you are pushing for EV transition, it doesn't make sense to make petrol cheaper. 

 

Then it's just about managing the fiscal. It's easier to pass on this benefit. It is more difficult to withdraw. 

Ah well you could make EV cars cheaper or add incentives there than punishing petrol car owners 

[singhvivek141]

10 hours ago, pkmmamks said:

Ah well you could make EV cars cheaper or add incentives there than punishing petrol car owners 

Incentives were there.

Some taxes were relaxed for EV cars. Although EV charging stations are less and super chargers are even lesser.

It will take some more years to expand the infra.

[pkmmamks]

38 minutes ago, singhvivek141 said:

Incentives were there.

Some taxes were relaxed for EV cars. Although EV charging stations are less and super chargers are even lesser.

It will take some more years to expand the infra.

Yes but why punish the petrol car owners