⛽BACK WHEN DRIVING DIDN’T FEEL LIKE A LUXURY
There was a time — not too long ago — when filling your fuel tank didn’t feel like signing a loan agreement.
Back when petrol was ₹64 a litre, diesel was under ₹50, and weekend drives didn’t come with guilt or gas-price anxiety.
That was india before 2014 — a decade when the middle class still had breathing room, when reliance petrol pumps shut down not for lack of demand but because private players couldn’t compete with state-controlled, subsidized fuel.
Those were, quite literally, the golden days of the indian economy — when your money had value, your car had purpose, and your government didn’t treat your fuel tank like an ATM.
📈 THE NUMBERS THAT TELL THE STORY
Let’s do the math.
In 2014, petrol cost around ₹64 per litre.
According to RBI inflation data, that ₹64 in 2014 is equivalent to about ₹103 today — after a cumulative inflation of roughly 61% between 2014 and 2025.
So, if prices had simply followed inflation, petrol should still be around ₹103 per litre today — and diesel slightly lower.
But here’s the twist: that ₹103 figure is already the real price today.
Meaning, even after adjusting for inflation, you’re not paying more because the rupee lost value — you’re paying more because of policy, taxes, and profit politics.
💸 TAXED TILL IT HURTS
Fuel prices today aren’t a reflection of the market — they’re a reflection of government revenue hunger.
Excise duty, VAT, cess, infrastructure surcharge, and now ethanol blending mandates — every litre you buy carries layers of hidden taxation.
The government’s own data admits it: nearly 50% of what you pay at the pump is tax.
Petrol isn’t expensive because oil is costly. It’s expensive because governance is greedy.
And while global crude prices have dropped multiple times since 2020, indian consumers never saw equivalent relief — because once the tax meter starts ticking, it never stops.
🌾 ETHANOL — THE SWEET NEW EXCUSE
Ethanol blending — marketed as the “green” and “self-reliant” solution — is just the latest narrative shift.
Before 2014, India’s ethanol blending was under 5%. Today, the target is 20% by 2025. But here’s the truth: ethanol doesn’t make your fuel cheaper — it makes it politically convenient.
The government can now blame “green transition” costs for higher prices, while fuel companies pocket stable profits.
In reality, ethanol-blended fuel burns faster, offers less mileage, and has become another policy prop to disguise unaffordability as sustainability.
🏦 WHEN reliance PUMPS SHUT DOWN
The closure of reliance petrol pumps before 2014 wasn’t a sign of a dying market — it was proof that India still had affordable, regulated fuel.
Private retailers couldn’t compete because public sector companies sold fuel at subsidized rates, protecting the consumer.
It wasn’t perfect economics, but it was humane governance.
Today, with complete market deregulation and tax-backed profiteering, reliance is back — not as competition, but as a premium fuel seller.
What was once “Bharat Petroleum” for the masses is now “Reliance Power Petrol” for those who can still afford the ride.
🏚️ THE DECADE THAT DRAINED THE MIDDLE CLASS
Between 2014 and 2025, India’s middle class has watched fuel prices rise faster than wages, faster than growth, faster than reason.
The same litre of petrol that cost ₹64 now costs ₹103 — but your income didn’t rise by 61%.
Your rent did. Your groceries did. Your electricity did.
And yet, the official narrative keeps insisting: “We’re doing better than ever.”
Better for whom?
For oil companies posting record profits.
For the exchequer, raking in taxes.
For those who no longer need to commute because they own the air-conditioned offices we work in.
🌍 THE GLOBAL MIRROR
Let’s be clear — global crude oil prices today aren’t the villain.
In 2014, crude oil traded at around $100 per barrel.
Today, it hovers near $85 — lower than then.
Yet, indian petrol is still more expensive.
Countries like the US, UAE, and even indonesia adjusted fuel taxes when global rates rose. India? It adjusted press statements instead.
The result: we’re now among the top 10 most expensive countries for fuel, despite being one of the lowest in per capita income.
🧩 BEYOND FUEL — A SYMBOL OF SYSTEMIC FAILURE
The story of petrol is not about energy — it’s about erosion.
Erosion of trust.
Erosion of purchasing power.
Erosion of empathy.
Every litre pumped today is a silent tax on the aspirations of a working-class india that’s already running on fumes.
The tragedy isn’t that petrol is expensive — it’s that people have stopped expecting it ever to come down.
⚖️ EPILOGUE: WHEN FUEL BECOMES FIRE
In india, before 2014, fuel price hikes sparked outrage.
Today, they spark memes.
Because when pain becomes permanent, humor becomes the only coping mechanism left.
petrol was ₹64. diesel was ₹48.
Reliance pumps were shut down because the system worked too well for the people.
Now, they’re open again — and so is the wound called inflation.
The clouds may not rain, the roads may crumble, but one thing never stops flowing — your money, straight into the fuel line of a government that won’t stop taking.
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