Fuel price hike essential, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia

In an exclusive interview with India Today, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia discussed the fuel price hikes, current economic crisis and the need for structural reforms. He stated that passing on the recent oil price increases to consumers was essential and unavoidable due to global energy shortages. Ahluwalia emphasised the necessity of transparency in pricing, noting, "I think the country should know that keeping oil prices low at this point, petroleum, doesn't make sense." He also addressed the depreciation of the rupee, calling it a necessary response to adverse market conditions and dried-up capital inflows. Furthermore, Ahluwalia highlighted the urgent need for reforms in agricultural subsidies, pointing out that pricing fertilisers at ten percent of import costs leads to unsustainable leakages to neighbouring countries. He urged the government to utilise the current economic challenges as an opportunity to implement comprehensive policy changes, finalise investment protection agreements, and improve the ease of doing business by eliminating quantitative control orders.