Rude ‘Crude’

Bang! You must be burning with no visible flames because of the recent fuel price hike. Worse, if your ‘Roti’ is cooked on LPG gas stoves, then each one of them is becoming more expensive. Yes, we do have many reasons to criticize the outrageous price hike which has fumed the country all over. But we could also try at least to consider a few reasons for this move from the Government. I strongly recommend reading ‘Government’ as ‘The Government of India – Our Country’ not as the UPA or Congress government. Should we know the whole perception about this dark market of fuel and gases before we really conclude anything? How much is the Government is blamable for the price hike? Think, think and think.

 

Crude oil is the most ‘wanted’ commodity in the world today. Everyday 7.6 Crore barrel (approx 1200 crore litres) of oil is consumed by the whole world. Let’s see, who the top consumers are!

 

 

Country	Oil Consumption
United States of America	200 lacs barrels per day (not surprised at all!)
China	56 lacs barrels per day
Japan	54 lacs barrel per day
India	22 lacs barrel per day

                                                                                                                                                                                               

1 barrel = 158.98 litres

 

India consumes a fair amount of oil everyday and ranks among top 10 largest consumers of oil in the world. India does not have enough oil produced from within the country itself and hence we import 70% of our consumption. Although, country’s capacity to refine the necessary oil stock is quite adequate.

 

 

India has to largely rely on the imports for oil sources as the consumption (approx 35 crore litres per day) is significantly greater than the ability of production (approx 12.7 crore litres).

 

 

Indian government officially dismantled the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) in 2002. APM used to regulate the flow and the prices of oil. Oil companies were told how much to sell and at what price. It means there was a less influence of international market on the fuel prices in India. But an insistence for free market pricing and foreign competition made the government to loose APM completely. But they kept an indirect eye on some key fuels to keep regulating their prices. As a result since last few years, crude price is having high correlation with the international market price. 

India’s price regulation mechanism for crude oil came to an end and it is to encourage the foreign participation in oil exploration. Now the prices are highly correlated with the international market price.

 

Let us see the domestic price graph of petrol, diesel and international price of crude oil between the years 2003 and 2008.

 

The graph clearly represents the gradual increase in prices of petrol and diesel since 2003. Of course, it shows the prices getting increased on regular basis since 2003 and that is natural. The most interesting part resides between starting 2007 and mid 2008 (now). In this one and half year crude oil prices have risen from $55.80 per barrel to $138.14 per barrel (as on 7 June 2008). It comes to 150% of hike within just 18 months. As a fact, India is least capable to anything about these prices and hence we have to absorb this increase in price somehow.

 

Let us compare the petrol and diesel prices during these 18 months of time. Petrol has gone up from Rs. 42.85 (Jan 2007) to Rs. 56.52 (June 2008) and Diesel has crossed Rs. 38 (June 2008) mark in compare to Rs. 30.25 (Jan 2007). There is a 33% and 26% of rise in petrol and diesel respectively. Doesn’t it seem that we have reasonably regulated fuel prices despite of the madness running over crude oil price?

 

 

 

The government is bearing a huge financial burden to provide uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and LPG to common men. Looking at the unprecedented price hike in international crude oil prices, we have got to bear a fraction of it for our own oil companies and hence for our country.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has released the figures and they suggest that the government and oil PSUs have been trying to moderate the impact on the common man. At current prices government will bear a financial burden of Rs. 245,000 crore in 2008-09. It would be out of scope to understand crude oil international price market at the moment. We need to be concerned with the solutions we can derive by our own efforts to deal with the increasing prices of fuels. There is not doubt that the increase of Rs. 5 per litre in petrol price is significant for a common man but for now considering this difficult situation and to act accordingly is the only choice left. It could have been worse if we look at the over all growth in crude prices internationally.

 

As one of the main reasons is that we have a greater reliance on imports for the oil and that is because we consume more. How can we contribute our bit? It is by trying to optimize our consumption of fuels, whether it’s petrol, diesel or natural gases. Broadly, any kind of energy should be saved to minimize unexpected consequences. And at last, Indian government has put some suggestions in a public advertisement, which may help us controlling our own consumptions and hence the oil situations and prices in future.

 

 

 

Conserver Energy for Brighter Future

 

• Drive at optimum speed of 45-55 kms/hr
• Maintain correct tyre pressure
• Switch off engines at traffic signals
• While driving do not drive the clutch
• Keep your vehicle engine tuned
• Light your stove only after you have all ingredients within your reach
• Pressure cooking saves fuel and time
• Use optimum quantity of water while cooking
• Use higher efficiency ‘ISI’ marked LPG stove

 

Sneh Bhavsar

Ahmedabad | 9 June 2008

SARKAR RAJ – Pre Release

Ambalal Kausty – an active, experienced and a person with involvement in political activities could not get help for his own family from the authorities. (“BJP can’t protect my family”, 25 March, Ahmedabad Mirror) 

How much assurance ‘Modi Sarkar’ provides that they would protect our families, our daughters from anti-social elements? Bugle blower of fighting terrorism, Mr. Modi & party appear to be unable of handling the social violence. It is alarming for any of us to be alert and aware of the domestic issues around our neighborhood. It is very usual to find bigheaded individuals in every locality. We ignore such things and our liberal approach towards them is often encouraging for such people, as Ambalal Kausty had their daughter-in-law left harassed by a local garage guy in Kankaria. They were even threatened and attacked with weapons. It’s a shame that even being an active member of a ruling political party Ambalal cannot get justice for his family’s honour. Why should someone even have to use his political connections to protect the women of his family? Are the law system and the police completely handicapped? Does a victim always need a political relation to get protected or to get justice? Common men’s honour and security are at stake, and have no value in this Modi’s hierarchical power planner. You will be served better, how better your relations are! This government is reaching the highest number of rapes, women assaults, child abuses and there are countless little problems around us. “The number of rape offences registered last year in Gujarat jumped from 253 in September to 336, by 2005 end.” (16 Feb 2006, Sourav Mukherjee , TNN). Our faces are still red with the shameful slap of Patan college incident. 

A few anti-socials are not just troubling some women or individuals but they are murdering the social dignity in daylight. Any development and technological industrializations are futile when they are ignoring the social security of the citizens, especially of women. No political party or no government had such an extreme dominance over the people and the social system in past, if we talk about Gujarat. We seem to be least secure with our lives, our dignity and our social disposition at present. Human lives have gone cheaper compared to material development. 

It is also not restricted to the individuals only, there are convicts who are pain for the whole locality, or to the organizations and still they roam free despite of getting charged for serious offences. They get out of jail merely within two days with their political powers. For instance, Gandhi Ashram residents suffer including some local innocent families and even some gandhians too. They are humiliated with the indecent activities around; they are abused with their belongings and bearing the damages to their reputation and businesses. Gandhi Ashram itself is being disgraced falsely by some individuals on regular basis. Ashram trustees are inactive and ignorant even about such serious tribulations in this heritage premises. Spiritless local authorities and political backing to such anti-socials work well and social integrity get killed here every other day. An immense amount of pain spills over when such things happen in a place which is the source of inspiration to non-violence, peace and humanity through the whole world. It is the place which gives Gujarat and Ahmedabad an identity through the world to feel proud of. It is up to us how much should we care about it?  

Sneh Bhavsar | 25 March 2008, Ahmedabad

Your Development Is Futile!

This take on recent polls, is my take on you and all the Gujaratis. Gujaratis are far far behind from the thought of nationalism where the nationalism is the principal and has to prevail in every member of the democracy. We are very much at the individual level; you ought to rip off that cover. Gujarat is still more of a shame to India than a proud of India in all over the world. Do not ask those money minded gujjus in London or New Jersey how they feel about the Gujarat and Modi, but asks the world. Even you can ask the other states of India. It is not the benchmark to believe that you are the best person if papa, mama and didi believe so, you should ask neighbors, friends, colleagues and even the society. Put the self on the surface – let it be commented it self. People want to look Modi, people want to dance Modi. I am heart-ripped because of this selfish, stiff and soulless mindset of Gujjus. Modi is a good leader and knows the ways to win the elections. Getting the top rank in the school examination and being a scholar are completely diverse. Being an ideal leader and winning the election to become chief minister are also completely different.  

The definition of the development is completely diverse for India in every manner. Centralization does not work for us; Distribution is the must for us. We don’t need to raise 5 malls in every area; we need to raise 5 farmers in every village. There are lots of things that I am and you are (not personally you) not enough sensible to say, but we can at least comprehend the things and not just follow the mass. Also the so called development and economic growth are coming down to Gujarat because of the individual business endeavors, outsourcing and over all India’s product dominance in the market. India is having intelligence overflow (Giddens: International social science author) and that has resulted in an economic growth and we have gone through this process over more than 40 years not just last 10 years. And the ‘malai‘ we professionals and executives are eating now, is the outcome of this stirring process of the Indian global injections. I will say hundred times – it does not coexist with development to filter the growth areas and the growing mass. If you don’t get it, I reiterate in simple words, “It is not possible to talk about hindutva & development together. Any development is futile without the intact harmony and rational environment.” It is not the development of Gujarat what you see. It will not be the Gujarat you may be wanting.   

Sneh Bhavsar

Ahmedabad, 27 December 2007