THE BURNING ISSUE

The month of June was a cruel—and disorienting—one for Indian consumers. For three weeks on the trot, starting June 7, oil marketing companies (OMCs) raised prices of petrol and diesel almost every day. In 22 days, the prices of petrol and diesel, in Delhi, rose by Rs 9.13 and Rs 11.10 a litre—an increase of 13 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. In a first, diesel became more expensive than petrol (in Delhi), causing worries of higher logistics costs and the cascading effect on