India's Fuel Map Explained: Who Burns More Per Person?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to citizens about judiciously using petrol and diesel have put a silent discomfort in the air. Citizens are worried about what's coming up.

While many ministers have announced plans towards austerity measures, PM Modi's plans include cutting down the number of cars in his convoy by 50 per cent and adding more electric vehicles. While austerity measures have started to become a trend among the top brass, it is not where the high petrol consumption comes from. 

The highest per capita consumption of petrol and diesel comes from areas with high tourism activity. These include Goa, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. 

Per capita petrol consumption

Against a daily average usage of 10.4 litre of petrol per 100 people in India, the average in Goa was 52.4 litre in 2024-25, according to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. With a daily usage of 41 litres per 100 people, Puducherry ranks second and Chandigarh ranks third with 37.8 litres.

In contrast, the per capita consumption in Bihar is lowest at 3.3 litres per 100 people every day, followed by West Bengal with 5.1 litres.  

Per capita diesel consumption

The pattern of diesel usage is slightly different. Against a daily average usage of 21 litres of diesel per 100 people in India, the average in Andaman & Nicobar Islands was 144 litres in 2024-25, followed by 111 litres in Ladakh and Puducherry respectively. The lowest per capita consumption of diesel was six litres per 100 people every day in Bihar and eight litres in Delhi. 

The higher per capita consumption is driven by areas where tourism thrives, however, the overall usage of fuel in India has also significantly risen since April 2023. The consumption of petrol rose by 31 per cent while that of diesel by 12 per cent. 

While the Prime Minister has urged the citizens to restrict foreign travel in an effort to save foreign exchange, the per capita fuel consumption data shows that domestic tourism is also not off the radar to check fuel usage.