Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oil bonanza has been nothing short of a ‘get more, pay less,’ offer.
That’s because India’s average oil imports rose 25 percent a year during Modi’s term compared with that of predecessor Manmohan Singh’s second stint, according to Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. Yet, the yearly oil import bill has fallen by about 28 percent since 2014.
During the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance’s second term, India's average annual oil import bill was $133 billion for average inbound shipments of 1,90,000 million tonnes. In comparison, average imports rose to 2,37,000 MT in the last four years but costs fell to $95 billion.
The Brent averaged around $97.85 a barrel for UPA II compared with $61.3 during Modi years so far.
That has started changing now though. The crude surged as much as 15 percent in the last three months. With the general election a year away, rising fuel prices could prove to be a worry for Modi as they threaten to increase the current account deficit and also stoke inflation.
(This story was first published on BloombergQuint)