Steep rise in petrol prices : Austerity required in government consumption

Since government is the biggest user of petroleum products, Union Finance Minister should start its austerity drive by announcing stiff measures for a drastic cut in consumption of petrol and diesel in the government also to overcome deficit resulting out of steep hike in petrol prices.

1. Bigger and smaller sized cars for fixation of excise-duty should be done according to ex-factory value rather than length of the car, and any new car at cost of public-exchequer should then be a ‘small’ car even for heads of nation, legislature, judiciary and bureaucracy.
2. Government-loans to its employees including from public-sector should only towards small cars. Even public-sector banks should give car-loans only for small cars
3. Purchase of cars especially big ones should be discouraged by increasing excise-duty on small cars at 20-percent, and 40 or 50 percent for big cars. Such increased excise-earnings should be utilised for reducing tax on petroleum products like was done in Goa.
4. Meeting of finance-ministers from all states should be convened for uniform tax-structure (local and central) to have uniform net consumer-prices of petroleum products throughout the country. Huge price-difference to tune of 10-20 percent in different states is unfair.
5. Price so calculated should be rounded to next complete rupee in case of petrol, diesel, kerosene and CNG, while in case of cooking-gas, it should be in multiples of rupees fifty. This rounding-off can result in increased earnings for oil-companies.
6. Large overheads and publicity-budget should be curtailed by merger of all public-sector oil-companies in one unified company.
7. Discounts on petrol purchased by affluent class through credit-cards should be abolished. A recent RTI response reveals that HPCL encourages more purchase of petrol because credit-card users usually get their tanks full by swap of credit-cards.
8. Only branded petrol and diesel should be sold initially in urban areas, and then throughout the country on all retail-outlets.
9. New-look translucent LPG cylinders made of fibre-glass ensuring tamperproof full-load supply of LPG gas per cylinders should replace old iron-cylinders with one time replacement-cost rather than charging rupees 300 extra for every re-fill.