They may be branded as villains by the environmental lobby, but personal cars consume a paltry 0.6% of the
diesel consumed in the country, an internal Planning Commission note said.
The note shows that personal cars are the lowest consumers of diesel, a far cry from the charges that they benefit the most from the subsidy that the government accords to the fuel. According to the note, goods vehicles consume the maximum 37.9% while agriculture accounts for 18.8%. Buses, another
crucial consumer of the fuel, account for 6%.
The note, which has been shared with auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), is in stark contrast to Kirit Parikh Committee report that pegs the consumption by passenger cars ata staggering 15% of the total diesel usage. However , while the 2010 Parikh Committee report (A Viable and Sustainable System of Pricing of Petroleum Products ) attributes a higher percentage to passenger cars, it does not further divide it in sub-segments like taxis, jeeps/ multi-utility vehicles etc.
The Planning Commission note pegs the usage by taxis at 2.1% and jeeps/MUVs at 2.5%. Three-wheelers account for 3.6%, power 6.8%, railways 3.7%, industry 5.6% and others 12.5%.
Personal cars account for 0.6% of India's diesel consumption — economictimes.indiatimes.com — Readability
It is becoming yet another win for the government when people complain and ask for no subsidy on diesels for passenger cars.