Petrol prices are rising and they will keep on doing that and we all know that. Just protesting is not the solution and neither is letting them rise and suffer. We all live in the biggest democracy of the world. We all live in the country, the intellect of whose citizens is unmatched.They have proved their potential in every domain be it technical, humanities, or arts. We are gaining expertise in every field and we have managed to surprise the world around us. They surely envy us (if they care for intellect at all). We all are busy helping biggest of the organizations solving the problems they face. Everyone in India be it a male or female, none is lagging behind.
We all have enough money to buy whatever we need, and as we can afford whatever we need, we don’t even think twice. We don’t even care how much we need. We simply buy without even bothering that not everything is being replenished the moment we consume and this simply creates the supply demand imbalance.
We all know that in order to survive we all need energy. In our school level science, we studied about the sources of energy i.e. renewable and non-renewable. I believe, even if you had forgotten all that, referring them here might have triggered something in your brain. Yes, you are getting it right. Non-renewable sources of energy are those which can’t be used again and again. Petroleum, on the price rise of which we come out on roads even in the scorching heat, is also one of those sources of energy, which, if you are in your 20s or still single, I guarantee your grandchildren will read only in books as we do read about ‘Mammoth’.
We all know basic economics, we all know basic science. We all are aware of that as the supply reduces, the price increases. Let me be clear here, I am not at all backing the UPA decision. I am just trying to bring it to your attention that this problem will not be solved just by reducing the prices to everyone’s comfort level. That will, if at all ,escalate the problem.
Every country has started taking steps in order to reduce the consumption of petrol, or petroleum products. In China, there are certain days in week, when automobiles with certain number plates are fined if seen on roads. This is just to discourage the use of automobiles or reduce consumption. But in India, we all are aware that government can’t force, and moreover, we love doing what we are restricted to do. WE all go out on roads, protest, hunger strikes, blah blah.
The government of India also knows, rising prices is the only solution in order to discourage the consumption of a commodity here. But that is also a temporary solution. Every economic theory supports the concept of rewards. But even one of the greatest economist thinkers i.e. Dr. Manmohan Singh seems to have forgotten this. If you at all care for petrol and people, you need to take them together. You can’t handle this problem just by enforcing price rise and making an excuse of international price rise and weak currency.
In order to get some support from public, govt. need to show that they care. They must reward in some way or the other if public supports. I believe, in order to control oil consumption, cost depending on consumption can be a better solution. This will also cause a sense of responsibility in citizens too. We should centralize all the petrol pumps in India so as to track the consumption per day. We should restrict the filling of particular oil tanks (automobile) to 1 or may be 2 times a day. As well as, the price structure should be such that, the more you buy, the more you pay. SO that we can start thinking atleast , “how much do we need?”. Moreover, government can make this variable cost structure dependent upon international prices as well as currency value. Timely price fluctuations will also create a sense of how our actions or demands affect prices. We all will feel more connected to the resources we can’t live without. And hopefully we all will understand the true value of such resources.
The more we are connected to something, the more we try hard not to let them go. May be this will make us do something, that our grandchildren will be proud of us :D
-Arian
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