NewDelhi: India’s annual fuel consumption and wastage: India is the world’s third-largest consumer of oil. After the United States and China, India consumes the highest amount of oil. According to the latest figures, the country’s total annual fuel consumption is around 175 billion litres. Out of this, petrol accounts for 58 billion litres, while diesel consumption stands at 117 billion litres.
Based on the total number of vehicles in India, the number of petrol pumps, road conditions, traffic congestion, and various research studies,’ primetime show DNA has presented some important estimates. It says India wastes nearly 35 billion litres of fuel every year. This means almost 20% of the country’s total annual fuel consumption of 175 billion litres goes to waste.
In other words, nearly 73 days’ worth of fuel is wasted annually. Just imagine: the amount of fuel India wastes every year could keep Sri Lanka running for six years, Bangladesh for two and a half years, and Pakistan for around 16 months. The scale of this wastage is massive.
Reasons behind fuel wastage
Now, let’s understand the different reasons behind this fuel wastage. Traffic jams account for an estimated 14 to 20 billion litres of wasted fuel. Poor roads and potholes are believed to waste another 8 to 12 billion litres. Keeping engines running at traffic signals leads to the wastage of 2 to 3 billion litres of fuel. Illegal parking contributes to the wastage of around 500 million to 1 billion litres. Meanwhile, fuel dripping from petrol pump nozzles is estimated to waste around 30 to 50 million litres.
Altogether, nearly 35 billion litres of fuel is wasted every year. Based on fuel prices in Delhi, the wastage is valued at about Rs 3.32 lakh crore. And even if half of this wastage could be prevented, the savings would be enormous, as the saving of 17.5 billion litres of fuel could result in annual savings of nearly Rs 1.66 lakh crore.
What could be achieved by reducing fuel wastage?
It is also important to understand what could be achieved with this money. According to DNA, half of the money lost due to fuel wastage could fund the establishment of 23 IITs and 20 IIMs. India’s solar energy capacity could be expanded by 50 gigawatts. Since India’s renewable energy target is 500 gigawatts, this amount alone could cover nearly 10% of the required funding.
By preventing just half of the fuel wastage, the country could build 5,000 kilometres of new railway lines, construct 30,000 kilometres of national highways, and provide one year of health insurance coverage to 10 crore families.
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