Despite the export taxes on auto fuels, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) continue to bear the extra burden of ensuring steady supply of fuels. Customers are giving private retail outlets a miss because petrol and diesel are costlier at these stations by Rs 7/litre and Rs 5/litre, respectively. Nearly 60 million people visit retail fuel outlets in the country on a daily basis. India had a little over 83,000 retail fuel outlets, as of May-end, of which around 8-9% belong to private sector. On an average, OMCs cater to around 90% of the domestic transport fuel demand. A senior official …
