Inside India’s Petrol Pricing System and the Tax Divide Driving State Gaps

India’s fuel market is sending a confusing signal right now. The Iran war has pushed global oil markets into shock, the Indian oil basket has surged above $150 a barrel, and the risk to key supply routes through the Middle East is rising. Yet at the pump, prices have barely moved. That disconnect is exactly where this story begins, because petrol prices in India do not move the way most people assume they do. They are based on a formula that is filtered through taxes, logistics, and policy choices that can dramatically change what consumers…