As the West Asia crisis sent global oil and gas prices surging following the outbreak of the US-Iran war on 28 February, India took a path no comparable economy chose: absorbing the cost at the level of the State and public sector oil marketing companies rather than passing it on to households, according to the Petroleum Ministry. The country declared no emergency, imposed no rationing, and recorded the smallest pump-price increase of any major economy.

How Other Economies Responded

The contrast was sharpest among import-dependent nations that slid from price pressure into physical shortage. Sri Lanka, still recovering from its 2022 economic collapse, reintroduced mandatory petrol rationing within a fortnight of the crisis and shifted the public sector to a four-day working week, with its fuel registration portal crashing under the weight of millions of simultaneous sign-ups.

Pakistan closed schools, shortened its working week, and hosted cricket matches behind closed doors to curb traffic and fuel consumption. Myanmar introduced odd-even driving restrictions combined with QR-code rationing, Bangladesh deployed troops at oil depots, and Ethiopia routed fuel exclusively to security forces and essential industries, suspending distribution altogether in the Tigray region.

Wealthier Importers Also Felt the Strain

Even economically stronger importers were not insulated. Japan drew down its strategic petroleum reserves and subsidised pump prices. South Korea capped fuel prices for the first time in thirty years. Across the European Union, 22 of its 27 members had collectively spent over nine billion euros on consumer relief by mid-April, with Germany cutting fuel taxes and Hungary releasing reserves that were subsequently reported to be running low.

Where markets were left to self-correct, the price rises were steep: diesel climbed roughly 80 per cent in New Zealand, petrol rose by approximately a fifth in the United Kingdom, and fuel in California crossed five dollars a gallon. Even oil-exporting nations were not spared at the pump — the United Arab Emirates saw diesel prices rise about 85 per cent, while Nigeria's citizens faced higher transport costs despite a windfall for its exporters. The International Energy Agency (IEA) executed its largest-ever coordinated reserve release — equivalent to roughly four days of global demand — underscoring how grave the supply position was judged to be.

What India Did Differently

'India did none of this. It declared no emergency, rationed no household, shortened no working week, closed no school and ordered no driving ban. The only curbs it applied were on commercial and bulk LPG and on the export of diesel and aviation fuel, and these were to protect the domestic household, allocation rather than rationing,' the Petroleum Ministry stated.

After an initial scare on cooking gas supply, the household cylinder continued to reach consumers without interruption. Retail fuel pumps remained open throughout the crisis, and the rise at the pump was the smallest recorded among any major economy, according to the ministry.

India Among First to Ease Restrictions

India was also among the first economies to unwind its crisis-era measures. The restrictions on commercial and bulk LPG were lifted by 25 June. The ministry attributed this outcome to a decade of energy-security investment and what it described as 'strategic autonomy in practice.' Notably, this episode marks one of the most direct tests of India's long-running push to diversify its energy supply and build strategic reserves — and, by the government's own account, that investment paid off for ordinary consumers.