Not a bad start given the entire country was locked down. However, partial resumption of essential & export industries kept the sales ticking. What’s intriguing is the Rural disconnect seemingly functioning near to normal. Either the precautions were not taken or the masses did not strictly follow the instructions.
The return of Wheat harvesting season was also reflected in a 40% Month on Month growth in Diesel demand to 547k tons. If people ever doubted the significance of agriculture as the “back bone” of the country, they get proven wrong now.
In 6 weeks, we’ve seen a 33% or Rs 42 cut in Diesel price boding well for agriculturalist, transporters & industries at large. Whereas, a 25% or Rs 30 cut in Petrol price is a decent tax cut for common man’s income.
The government is rightly charging full Rs 30/liter Petroleum levy on Diesel while charging Rs ~24/liter Petroleum levy on Petrol sales. Even a Rs 30/liter levy on Petrol would do no harm if government transparently projects the savings are being channeled for cash transfers to unemployed.
The masses should consider this as a windfall & expect partial reversal in months. Fill the tanks.
