I researched who actually decides prices in India… and the answer surprised me
Most people think the government directly decides prices in India.
But when I started researching petrol, onions, and medicines for a video… I realized the reality is way more complicated.
Petrol is “market linked” — but government-owned companies still get informal signals.
Onion prices are decided by a broken chain of traders, storage problems, exports, and mandi systems.
Essential medicines have price caps… but branded drugs still sell for 3-4x more.
Some things that genuinely shocked me:
Farmers getting ₹1/kg for onions while consumers pay ₹30.
Petrol taxes sometimes making up nearly half the final price.
Generic medicines being chemically identical to branded ones but massively cheaper.
The weirdest part?
None of these systems are fully “free market” or fully “government controlled.”
It’s this strange hybrid system where:
politics,
taxes,
corporations,
supply chains,
and public ignorance
all mix together.
Made a detailed Hindi video breaking this down with examples from 2026 pricing data, NPPA medicine rules, onion mandi pricing, and fuel taxes.
Would genuinely love to know:
Which pricing system in India frustrates you the most — fuel, groceries, healthcare, or something else?