Interrupted by state elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Indian government's economic reform programme finally got going with a series of decisions this past week. The price of diesel was de-controlled and fell sharply, given international oil prices are at their lowest in some four years. This means diesel prices will now be linked to market rates and could go up and down as the market changes.
While this opens up potential political risk for the government if and when prices rise sharply or show volatility, the government is obviously betting on a period of soft prices as well as making a defining move towards ending a diesel subsidy policy that ended up creating distortions and offering indirect incentives for, among other things, buying SUVs rather than smaller petrol-run cars.
While this opens up potential political risk for the government if and when prices rise sharply or show volatility, the government is obviously betting on a period of soft prices as well as making a defining move towards ending a diesel subsidy policy that ended up creating distortions and offering indirect incentives for, among other things, buying SUVs rather than smaller petrol-run cars.
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