Often you come across some forwarded mails sharing some brilliantly written piece of intelligence that leaves you dumbstruck. The mail is sooo exciting and overwhelming, that sometimes you press the forward button and send it to a couple of your friends expecting them too to stare at the screen. One such mail - ripped apart - is here.
Hi everybody,
Petrol in
Pakistan Rs17 per litr
Malaysia Rs 18 per litr
In India it's 48 per litr
Why this difference in Asia itself ? World Market CRUDE Oil is not the reason for this. It's all Gain for private owners? As we are the general public, or Common Man as R.K.Laxman wud hv said, we have to raise our voice, let's raise thru Emails.
Forward this to all Indians who care.
I HAS BEEN CALCULATED THAT IF EVERYONE DID NOT PURCHASE A DROP OF PETROL FOR ONE DAY AND ALL AT THE SAME TIME, THE OIL COMPANIES WOULD CHOKE ON THEIR STOCKPILES. AT THE SAME TIME IT WOULD HIT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WITH A NET LOSS OVER 4.6 BILLION DOLLARS WHICH AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINES OF THE OIL COMPANIES.
THEREFORE "24th JANUARY" HAS BEEN FORMALLY DECLARED "STICK IT UP THEIR BEHIND " DAY AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION SHOULD NOT BUY A SINGLE DROP OF PETROL THAT DAY.
THE ONLY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE IS IF YOU FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN TO GET THE WORD OUT. WAITING ON THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND CONTROL THE PRICES IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REDUCTION AND CONTROL IN PRICES THAT THE ARAB NATIONS PROMISED TWO WEEKS AGO?
REMEMBER ONE THING, NOT ONLY IS THE PRICE OF PETROL GOING UP BUT AT THE SAME TIME AIRLINES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES, TRUCKING COMPANIES ARE FORCED TO RAISE THEIR PRICES WHICH AFFECTS PRICES ON EVERYTHING THAT IS SHIPPED. THINGS LIKE FOOD, CLOTHING, BUILDING SUPPLIES MEDICAL SUPPLIES ETC. WHO PAYS IN THE END? WE DO!
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.IF THEY DON'T GET THE MESSAGE AFTER ONE DAY, WE WILL DO IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. SO DO YOUR PART AND SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND MAKE 24 JANUARY A DAY THAT THE CITIZENS SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"
We forward so many junk email to many of our friends, now let us do it for some useful cause to cut down the price of the petrol .. .....
REMEMBER : JANUARY 24, 2008.... NO Petrol
Day...!
I have something to say about this:
My apologies to anyone who feels offended by my opinion. Just that the mail I received was too thought provoking and too hurting for me to remain silent and watch. The purpose of this reply is only to reveal the TRUE facts.
Point 1:
The ACTUAL petrol prices compared across the three nations mentioned in the mail are listed below are listed below:
|
Country |
Rs/ ltr |
|
Pakistan |
43.98 |
|
India |
50.20 |
|
Malaysia |
18.90 |
Source of this information: http://www.kshitij.com/research
Facts are in line with the prices indicated in the news report http://www.dawn.com/2005/09/01
Though the facts are slightly outdated but I am sure that this makes clear that the numbers cited in the mail are JUNK.
Point 2:
Malaysia has extremely low fuel prices. Wonderful! Should you not know the reason?
The writer of that mail has very carefully chose a nation where the fuel prices are the lowest in theworld. The country picked up (Malaysia) has huge oil reserves and major portion on the income that the government gets is through the export of petroleum products.
"These costs are in effect being covered by contributions from Petronas, the highly profitable 100 percent Government-owned oil company. In the financial year 2004/05 (ending March 2005), Petronas contributed a total of RM31.2 billion to Government in the form of taxes, dividends, and royalties (equivalent to 53 percent of the company's
gross profits). This contribution was 47 percent higher than the previous year's." - This is taken from http://siteresources.worldbank
On one hand you have a major oil producer and on the other you have countries(India and Pakistan) who are struggling to find countries to see them oil. Is it fair to compare prices?
Point 3:
Our nation does have higher petrol prices. But do we know why the India companies are still struggling to keep up with the major financial losses they suffer? LPG and Kerosene, the two fuels that drive the kitchens of a billion people are highly subsidized by the state. "India's fuel subsidies might cost as much as $17.5 billion this year, according to
Lombard Street Research, a British firm of economists. That amounts to as much as 2% of the country's GDP.
Cheap kerosene fires the poor man's stove in India's cities and lights his home in the country's villages.". - http://www.economist.com
Point 4:
"It's all Gain for private owners?" - From the mail.
Private Owners?? Since the day I was born I seen fuel being purchased in this country from HP, BP and IOC. How could someone be so ridiculous? Tomorrow I expect to see a mail stating that the India Army is a private enterprise.. Just recently Reliance has entered the market. But the influence of the company of Indian Fuel Price is nothing more than
marginal even today.
I AM PROUD OF OUR OIL COMPANIES. I am proud of these public sector units that have performed and ensured regular supply to me in the most extreme cost cutting environments. They are PSUs (Public Sector Units) and so in a way, they are mine.
I will consider any damage does to them a personal damage. I will mark 24th January 2008 in my calendar as a day of protest against this propaganda to increase the dissatisfaction of the people against the government even when there is no valid ground. I was about to get my bike refuelled today. But I guess I will wait till the 24th.
Point 5:
I feel sorry about the fact that all the time I receive some of these mails there are none that speak about what I can do to make things better. I am sick and tired of these negative propagandas and I stand firmly against them. This nation, where people should have been working for growth continues to suffer from individuals and groups fighting for their selfish benefits with complete disregard to the bigger picture of the national interest.
In my own small self and limited understanding, I request you to give it a clear thought. If you hate me for this, you are welcome to revert back to me with your kind (or not so kind) messages. If you agree, then please forward it back to the person who forwarded it to you.
Come-on People! Let's Stand
BY our nation.
Jai Hind!
Rajat Kumar Agarwal
Mail: Sankalp.admin@gmail.com
Visit: www.sankalpindia.net
India business correspondent, BBC News, Mumbai
Thakoo Bai Arwar is one of millions of poor Indians who waits for this time of the month, every single month.
IThakoo Bai Arwar is one of millions of poor Indians who waits for this time of the month, every single month.It is when she can head to the government ration shop and buy her monthly supply of subsidised kerosene. She and her family depend on the low price of kerosene - a fuel that many low income Indians use for cooking.
Their lives depend on support from the state.
"I have a fixed budget for my monthly expenditures," she says as she stands in line waiting for her turn to buy the precious fuel.
"I can't afford to spend more than this amount for kerosene. We use it for everything, so if the price goes up we would really suffer.
"The government needs to look after poor people like us."
Rising oil prices
At the ration shop, that sentiment is echoed by many others waiting for their turn to buy kerosene. There is a sense here out on the streets that these subsidies are here to stay for good.
It is very, very challenging and we are being really badly affected
Sarthak Behuria, chairman of Indian Oil
This is India's problem. People out on the streets depend on the lower price of essential fuels like kerosene and petrol to survive. But India buys 70% of its oil from international markets - and pays global prices for it.
Selling fuel to its citizens at an artificially low cost is taking its toll on the country's economy. India sells gasoline, diesel and other consumer fuels at below cost - and is now starting to feel the heat as oil prices head towards $100 a barrel.
Global markets
While global oil prices hit record highs, prices at India's petrol pumps stay low.
By comparison, the other big energy guzzling emerging market in the world, China, raised its oil prices by 10% in October. China, like India, makes its state oil firms shoulder the cost of selling oil at a subsidised rate.
India's state-run oil firms are worst affected.
Indian Oil, the country's largest state run oil firm, is not allowed to pass on higher oil charges to customers because of government subsidies.
The company estimates it is losing some $50m a day because of this.
"We are being doubly hit," the chairman of Indian Oil, Sarthak Behuria, says.
"We are unable to sell oil at the international prices to our customers. We have to buy this oil from overseas markets because we import seventy percent of our oil. It is very, very challenging and we are being really badly affected."
Electoral concerns
The government compensates state run Indian oil firms for their losses from selling below the international market rate for fuel by issuing oil bonds to them. The bonds only partially offsets those losses.
Eventually the burden of subsidising fuel for its citizen will catch up with the government, and when it does it will be a very expensive burden for the state to bear
Lakshmi Narayan, an independent analyst
Despite the difficulties of India's oil companies, the decision from political leaders in Delhi is that we will see no fuel hike in petrol or kerosene anytime soon.
India's government has been terribly worried about the impact of rising prices on its population.
Although the economy here has seen strong growth, it's estimated that almost 300 million people live below the poverty line.
Millions more survive on less than $2 a day, and that is the group of people that the government is worried about most.
They make up the bulk of the country's population, and the bulk of voters here.
India is also facing crucial elections this December, so raising fuel prices would be politically unpopular.
"Basically, you're seeing sensible economics play second fiddle to political realities," says Indranil Pan, economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank.
"Inflation... has been a major concern for this government and although the central bank has been doing a good job by trying to control the general rate of inflation, which does seem stable for now, food inflation is still quite high.
"The government is under pressure to keep food prices low, so it will be a political decision whether to raise fuel prices or not.
"I don't see it happening till the middle of next year, after all the elections are out of the way, even if international oil prices keep soaring."
Economic gamble
But how long can the Indian economy afford to wait?
Oil firms are losing billions of dollars from subsidising poorer Indians with their fuel.
The government's coffers are also being affected because it has to issue oil bonds to these firms, draining their financial resources.
There is an argument, however, that with the US dollar depreciating against the Indian rupee, that India can still withstand the burden of sky high oil prices for now.
"The Indian rupee has strengthened by some 15% against the US dollar this year," says Lakshmi Narayan, an independent analyst.
"That has made it much easier for the Indian government to buy oil from the overseas markets. But yes, this can't continue forever.
"Eventually the burden of subsidising fuel for its citizen will catch up with the government, and when it does it will be a very expensive burden for the state to bear."
But the political imperative is proving to be more of a priority than running the economy in a sensible and efficient manner.
Staying in power means ensuring low prices for the masses who make up the majority of India's voters - even if that means risking the health of India's economic future.
India Business Report is broadcast repeatedly every Sunday on BBC World. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7109209.stm Published: 2007/11/23 12:50:47 GMT © BBC MMVIII