In another blow to the common man of India, the CNG fuel prices in Delhi and NCR region have gone up by up to Rs. 3.30 per Kg effective from 7th July 2012. This price hike in Delhi is Rs. 2.90 per KG where CNG now costs Rs. 38.35 per KG up from the previous price of Rs. 35.45 whereas in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, it will not cost Rs. 43.10 per Kg up from the previous price of Rs. 39.80 per KG. This is approximately a 10% hike in the price of CNG fuel which will affect the running cost of auto rickshaws in Delhi, Public transport buses, private and commercial vehicles which run on CNG.
The blame for the hike is being put on the weak Indian Rupee against US dollar because of which the international gas prices have risen. This hike is expected to create unrest among the auto rickshaw and taxi drivers and they may start to demand a hike as the input cost is increased for them. Under the overall increasing inflation and ever increasing petrol prices, CNG was one affordable alternative which also seems to gradually moving out of the common man’s reach. This hike will tend to reduce the sales of CNG cars in Delhi and NCR region and will increase the demand for Diesel car which remains proffered option for most car buyers in India because of comparatively stable diesel prices and lower running cost of diesel cars.
The domestic source of natural gas, the KG basin is drying up and the supply from domestic sourcing is badly affected. The import of CNG costs close to 3 times the price of the domestic supplies because of which the input costs of IGL have gone up. With almost all fossil fuels including Petrol, Diesel, CNG etc. all drying up, the future cars needs to rely on other alternatives like fuel cells, electric cars, solar cars, compressed gas engines etc. as other options. Such alternative technologies are still far from mass adoption in Indian markets which seems to be big issue in coming decades. We hope some solution to this energy problems is found soon so that common man of India can enjoy affordable transportation.
We will keep you posted on the latest updates, stay tuned.