Don’t fall for the headline.
In 2014, excise duty on petrol was ₹9.48/litre. By May 2020, while the world was locked down and crude had crashed to $20/barrel, Modi govt hiked it to ₹32.98/litre. A 348% spike. They collected ₹38.89 lakh crore from fuel taxes in 10 years.
Now “scrapping excise”, but only on E22 to E30 ethanol-blended petrol. Not your regular fuel. A blend that, per a survey of 37,000 vehicle owners, caused unusual wear & tear in 28% of vehicles bought before 2022, with 2/3rds reporting a mileage drop. Two major bike makers & Shell India warned: pre-2023 vehicles risk engine damage and warranty loss.
So here’s the conflict of interest no one’s talking about:
🔴 The govt mandates E20 blending nationwide → forces you onto a fuel that damages your older vehicle → the ethanol supply chain benefits sugar mill lobbies with deep political connections → Nitin Gadkari’s family business is tied to Maharashtra’s sugar belt. The govt itself admitted mileage drops up to 6% in older vehicles.
You pay for the fuel. You pay for the repairs. You pay for the insurance gap.
And today’s “good news”? It doesn’t cut retail prices by a single rupee. It just incentivises higher ethanol blending; pushing you deeper into a fuel your vehicle wasn’t built for.
This isn’t relief. It’s a con wrapped in a press release.
First, bleed the common man. Then rebrand the knife as medicine.
🔴
#BREAKING | पेट्रोल पर गुड न्यूज, एथेनॉल वाले पेट्रोल पर सरकार ने एक्साइज ड्यूटी खत्म की