Each time you fill up your fuel tank, India's state-owned oil companies are losing money on the transaction. So far, it has helped the economy. However, Fitch Ratings today hinted that this arrangement could potentially become financially dangerous. Retail petrol and diesel prices in India have been frozen since April 2022, nearly four years, even as Brent crude has crossed $108 per barrel and is hovering well above Fitch's own "adverse scenario" threshold of $100/barrel. State-run oil marketing companies, such as IOC, BPCL, and HPCL, are currently losing approximately ₹18 per litre on petrol and ₹35 per litre on diesel, according to market estimates. Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri publicly acknowledged in March 2026 that OMCs were losing around ₹24 a litre on petrol and ₹30 a litre on diesel. In LPG, the total industry under-recovery in FY25 alone was estimated at ₹40,500 crore. Fitch stated that the core issue was not crude price volatility, but the duration. A brief spike can be absorbed, but a sustained period of high crude with frozen pump prices could destroy EBITDA, drain working capital, and shrink free cash flow in a way that damages credit profiles over time.

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Japan's Marubeni has purchased a spot naphtha parcel from India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) after a long absence as it needed to fill a supply shortfall caused by the ongoing...

In this briefing: India Opens the Vault: 100% FDI in Insurance Changes the Game Vodafone Idea: The End of AGR Chapter, What Next? MS-India Index Earning Revision (Apr): InterGlobe Aviation, Oracle Financial Services Software NIFTY Index Earning Revision (Apr): JIO Financial Services, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Bank Sun Pharmaceutical (SUNP IN): Organon Acquisition to Enhance Scale At the Cost of Growth 1. India Opens the Vault: 100% FDI in Insurance Changes the Game On May 2, 2026, the Finance Ministry gazetted 100% FDI in Indian insurance companies under the automatic route, completing a liberalization journey that began at 26% in 2000. With penetration at 3.7% of GDP against a global average of 7%, India's $142 billion sector remains structurally underserved and massively investible. The move triggers a wave of JV reassessments, raises competitive pressure on premium-priced incumbents, and compels a strategic re-rating across listed insurers. 2. Vodafone Idea: The End of AGR Chapter, What Next?

In this briefing: Vodafone Idea: The End of AGR Chapter, What Next? MS-India Index Earning Revision (Apr): InterGlobe Aviation, Oracle Financial Services Software NIFTY Index Earning Revision (Apr): JIO Financial Services, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Bank Sun Pharmaceutical (SUNP IN): Organon Acquisition to Enhance Scale At the Cost of Growth The Strait Jacket: Hormuz, OPEC's Fraying Seams & The Shipping Storm That Isn't Going Away 1. Vodafone Idea: The End of AGR Chapter, What Next? The DoT has finalised Vodafone Idea's AGR dues at INR64,046 crore as of December 31, 2025, down 27% from the provisional ₹87,695 crore, with repayments deferred entirely to FY32–FY41. The resolution removes a decade-long legal overhang, accelerates Vi's long-stalled INR 45,000 crore capex plan, and materially improves bank lending confidence, a precondition for competitive survival. The AGR closure is necessary but not sufficient: Vi must now close its debt raise, stop subscriber churn, narrow the ARPU gap, all before spectrum dues spike sharply from FY28. 2.

The refiners were collectively seeking around 48 very-large gas carriers, or roughly 2 million metric tons of LPG, for delivery in 2026. 

The warning comes even as India’s Russian crude imports show signs of tapering off.

A White House official has said Indian refiners are cutting Russian oil imports by half after discussions between Prime Minister Modi and U.S. President Trump.