India's fuel subsidies fourth largest in the world, shows IMF data

India provided the fourth largest fuel subsidies among countries in absolute terms in 2022 preceded by China, the United States and Russia, according to a working paper by the International Monetary Fund. Globally, fossil fuel subsidies were $7 trillion in 2022 or 7.1 per cent of GDP, IMF said.

According to the IMF data, China had the highest fuel subsidies ($2.2 trillion) in 2022, followed by the United States ($757 billion), Russia ($421 billion), India ($346 billion), and the European Union ($310 billion). Out of India’s $346 billion (or 10.6 per cent of GDP) fuel subsidies, the IMF said, $32 billion is explicit subsidies while $314 billion is implicit subsidies. However, India’s per capita fuel subsidies was much lower at $245 compared to Saudi Arabia ($6996), South Korea ($3120), Russia ($2982), Japan ($2498), US ($2243) and China ($1568).