Petrol De-regulated

How the economy would react to the petroleum decontrol is just like how the public would accept any movie. The first reaction on the share market was so crazy that I lost money by just being there. As I got out from the broker’s office I bumped into my commercial artist friend who usually had a laid back attitude to life but today he was hurried.’ Too busy to share a cuppa?’ I was surprised. ‘The Petrol de-control has increased by business’ he replied. Since he mainly catered to the industry of hospitality I was most confused at the relation between Petrol and restaurant business jump. He cleared my confusion by saying that since he had the reputation of designing menu cards, all the petroleum companies now clamored to him for their menu cards. Now that confused me in another direction. Instead of price list of just two Leaded and unleaded today, you will have so many choices as to have a menu card?

Now he suggested we sit over a cup of tea when he would explain. ‘Since the companies now have freedom to set prices, appointed consultants gave suggestions that once the car enters the Petrol Pump, each driver will be handed a Menu card to permit them to order the correct service.’ ‘You mean to tell me that we shall have more choice than just leaded and unleaded fuel?’ I countered. ‘The consultants like you’ he poked fun at my profession have given ideas to cover the thousands of crores of losses accumulated in the Balance Sheet by a host of value added services.’ I still did not get it so he secretly slid across the table a rough of an intended Menu card.

I looked at the prices and fell off my chair. It looked very much like the menu of Pizza or Burgers. ‘But the honorable minister and his stafftold to expect a marginal rise so I thought it would still be around Rs.60 but here you are showing me Rs. 200 per litre?’ ‘Read the small print’ he hissed. ‘You mean there will be customers paying high price to see an attractive girl filling up petrol in your vehicle instead of a greasy man?’ I was surprised. ‘Wait till your son gets his car and notice the fuel bill jump when he fills up the car’ he warned, indicating that market survey said that college boys would be the first group of customers for this ‘alternative’. He was correct that filling up the car would no longer remain a chore but an even to look forward to! I scanned the other so called value added products and noted the perfumed alternative as sheer rip off. ‘Why?’ was the only word I could mouth. ‘As a strategic consultant you should know better’ he admonished me, ‘all these years they were running into losses amount to Rs. 7600 crores. Now they have to recoup in a hurry and mere increase in prices of end product by Rs. 5 will translate to 110 years for Balance Sheets to be in Black. By quantum jump in rates only, the companies can hope to turn corner in two to three years!’ he lectured me basic business tactics.

‘And there is more in the other departments’ added my friend. ‘What other departments?’ I asked, ‘just washing and servicing or repairs are done so what type of value added can there be?’ My friend lectured, ‘In some countries, the car washing is an exciting profession. Who and how it is washed is important and thus the compensation.’ I held out my hand to accept his poster drawing as I was too dumb to understand. ‘Besides, this will generate employment for women which is what the Government wants due to the skewed girl-boy ratio in this country’ he added lending some credibility to the incredulous idea of service of the new petrol pumps.

Till that moment I was under the genuine belief that deregulation was restricted to price. Now I am certain that in one stroke it also led to deregulation of morality in pursuit of economic recovery of the petroleum companies.