XLRI alumni shares 'crazy ROI' from owning a petrol pump: Netizens say chat house near college offer better return

A post on X that claimed running a petrol pump could yield over ₹40 lakh in annual net income from a ₹50 lakh investment went viral earlier this week. The post drew wide attention online and triggered debates among users and AI platforms, many of whom questioned the accuracy and feasibility of the claim.

What the post said
The post, shared by X user Sourav Dutta on April 4, outlined the following numbers:


Initial investment: ₹50 lakh

Profit per litre: ₹3 on petrol, ₹2.5 on diesel

Daily sales: 5,600 litres

Daily income: ₹20,000

Monthly income: ₹6 lakh

Monthly expenses: ₹2 lakh

Annual net income: ₹40 lakh+

Dutta captioned the post as “Crazy ROI.”

Users call the post misleading

Several users on X reacted sharply to the post, calling the numbers unrealistic. One user wrote,
"As someone whose family business has been petroleum for the past 15 years, this is completely impractical, incorrect and misleading. Stop misguiding new entrepreneurs in losing money & getting their capital stuck in the day-to-day of petroleum. It is not viable and feasible in these times. The current economics do not make sense. The sales targets are out of reach, road infrastructure constantly changes & price sensitivity + competitiveness in every kilometer is hyper inefficient for dealers."

Another user questioned the investment logic, saying,
"Investment: 50L, who will give the land for the pump free? Daily income: 20K, better to open a chat house near a big college."
A third user dismissed it altogether, writing,
"Stopped reading after seeing investment: 50L."