India Energy Subsidy

This briefing note from the International Institute for Sustainable Development details the Indian government's efforts to reform energy subsidies, specifically targeting petroleum products and electricity, to reduce fiscal deficits and improve infrastructure connectivity.

• The Indian government intends to reduce its petroleum subsidy expenditure by more than 50% by the 2019/20 fiscal year, projecting a decrease from INR 25,000 crore (USD 3,825 million) in 2017/18 to INR 10,000 crore (USD 1,530 million).
• In June 2017, India implemented a policy for the daily revision of retail prices for petrol and diesel to increase transparency and better align domestic prices with international crude oil costs, reducing the time lag for oil marketing companies (OMCs).
• The government has used the decline in global crude oil prices to increase tax revenues rather than lowering consumer prices. Central excise duties on petrol and diesel were increased nine times between November 2014 and the date of the report, contributing to a decrease in the fiscal deficit from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
• The Saubhagya (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) scheme, with an allocation of INR 16,320 crore (USD 2.5 billion), aims to achieve universal household electrification by December 2018 by subsidizing last-mile connectivity equipment such as meters, wires, and transformers.
• The government has introduced gradual price increases for LPG and kerosene with the goal of eliminating subsidies by March 2018. For LPG, OMCs were directed to increase the price of 14.2kg cylinders by INR 4 per month starting in July 2017, while kerosene prices are being increased by INR 0.5 per litre per month to prevent diesel adulteration.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2017). India Energy Subsidy. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-subsidy-briefing-note-october-2017.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. India Energy Subsidy. 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-subsidy-briefing-note-october-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=India Energy Subsidy |date=October 2017 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-subsidy-briefing-note-october-2017.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2017india, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{India Energy Subsidy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/india-energy-subsidy-briefing-note-october-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }