Why are retail prices so high?

Price of crude in the world market has gone through the roof as the economic boom in countries like China, India and other emerging markets is driving global demand.

Price of crude in the world market has gone through the roof as the economic boom in countries like China, India and other emerging markets is driving global demand. Since India imports more than 70 per cent of crude it needs, high prices in the global market are bound to push up prices of auto fuels at home. But that is only one part of the story.

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Prices of petrol and diesel in India are higher than many competing economies elsewhere in the world, because of a wide array of duties and taxes that governments at the Centre and the states levy.