The government spends huge sums on subsidies, which has raised its fiscal deficit over the years. Going by subsidy grants to the listed companies, records show that the subsidy amount has risen by a huge 30 per cent CAGR over the last ten years. In FY14 total subsidy rose to a high of ₹2,54,632 crore. But the silver lining is that the subsidies to the listed companies have fallen for the first time in the last five years in FY14 and have further gone down in FY15.

This is because subsidies given to oil marketing companies, which suck in the biggest chunk of subsidies, have come down. In the first three quarters of FY15, oil marketing companies have not only witnessed a fall in subsidies but also seen fall in the discounts they get from crude-drilling companies like ONGC, Oil India, GAIL and Chennai Petroleum. This has not only reduced the government's burden but has also reduced the burden of the crude-drilling companies and hence will improve their margins. Two reasons behind fall in subsidies to oil-marketing companies are deregulation of diesel prices last year and fall in the international prices of crude oil from a high of $115 in June, 2014, to around $50 per barrel now.