Sreekanth, There are going to two forces that affect petrol prices. One of them, which should reduce it, is the appreciating rupee. The other, which should increase it, is the price of crude oil. There is a long term trend in increasing crude oil prices due to increasing global demand, especially in China and India. This trend will eventually also lead to increasing petrol prices. Because the RBI is letting the rupee appreciate, I think that indian consumer would pay less for petrol than he would otherwise. But I fully agree with you that the benefits for the consumer would not be certain unless this industry is privatized. Maybe crude oil is not the best example of the point that I was making, which is that the appreciating rupee increases the purchasing power of the indian consumer in the global marketplace.
