Petrol, Diesel Price Hike News Highlights: Kharge blames Modi govt for crisis, incompetence behind economic strain

After the Centre raised fuel prices in the country, the Odisha government on Friday responded to the change by hiking bus fares by at least two paise per km in ordinary passenger carriers, PTI reported.

In a notification issued by the Transport Commissioner, the fares will has been raised as following:

• Ordinary passenger buses will now be 90 paise per km from the earlier rate of 88 paise.
• Express buses' fares has been raised to 94 paise per km from 92 paise earlier.
• Deluxe buses' fares has been revised from ₹1.27 to ₹1.31 per kilometre. In the AC deluxe category, the fare will be ₹1.59 per kilometre instead of ₹1.55.
• Super deluxe category: the fare has been hiked by six paise per kilometre, taking the revised rate to ₹2.47 per kilometre.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday urged residents not to panic amid fuel shortage rumours and assured of adequate stocks of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, PTI reported.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal for judicious use of essential resources, the chief minister urged citizens to curb unnecessary consumption of petrol and diesel and refrain from panic buying.

"I appeal to the people of the state not to pay heed to rumours or panic. There are sufficient reserves of petrol, diesel and gas available in Chhattisgarh. Fuel supplies will continue in the same manner as before," he said.

Sai said there was no need for anxiety and urged people to act with restraint and responsibility in the larger national interest.

After Centre released an advisory on fuel conservation, the Supreme Court has directed that all matters listed on miscellaneous days, including Mondays and Fridays, as well as during partial working days, shall be heard only through video conferencing until further orders, ANI reported.

Meanwhile, the top court has also encouraged car-pooling arrangements among judges to ensure optimum utilisation of fuel.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Friday criticized the recent increase in petrol, diesel and CNG rates, calling it "unacceptable" and urging an immediate rollback, PTI reported.

Earlier, the Centre hiked prices of petrol and diesel by ₹3 per litre as the Brent crude price hovers above $100 per barrel amid the West Asia crisis.

Reacting to the hike, the CM said, "The Union Government Public Sector Oil Companies have increased the prices of petroleum products, especially petrol by Rs. 3 and diesel by Rs. 3 per litre. This is unacceptable. When the price of crude oil decreases in the international market, the petrol companies do not reduce the prices of petrol and diesel accordingly. Instead, those companies only take the profit."

Calling the timing of the hike inappropriate, he added, "This increase in the prices of petroleum products after the assembly elections in five states is unacceptable. This price increase will have a huge impact on the monthly income of the poor and middle-class people who use two-wheelers and scooters."

On May 1, state-owned oil marketing companies increased the price of 19-kg commercial Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders by ₹993. In Delhi, a 19-kg cylinder now costs ₹3,071.50.

Commercial LPG prices have been raised twice in recent months. It was first increased by ₹144 in March and nearly ₹200 on 1 April.

The government, however, kept the price of 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinders unchanged, insulating households from recent volatility in international fuel prices. Oil companies typically review and revise LPG prices at the start of each month.

Rates of both natural gas piped into household kitchens for cooking, called piped natural gas (PNG), as well as domestic cooking gas LPG, remained unchanged.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) prices were also raised by ₹2 per kg in cities including Delhi and Mumbai, PTI reported.

CNG in Delhi now costs ₹79.09 per kg, and in Mumbai it costs ₹84. However, prices of both natural gas piped into household kitchens for cooking, called piped natural gas, as well as domestic cooking gas LPG, remained unchanged.

Petrol and diesel prices on Friday were increased by around ₹3 per per litre across major Indian metros. Although the petrol and diesel price hike offers some relief to OMCs, experts believe it is insufficient to fully offset the massive under-recoveries accumulated over the past few years.

At prevailing crude oil prices, OMCs were estimated to be incurring losses of around ₹20 per litre on petrol and nearly ₹100 per litre on diesel, according to earlier estimates by the oil ministry.

“Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) were together incurring under-recoveries of ₹1,600–1,700 crore per day by selling fuel below cost. The cumulative under-recovery for the quarter alone is expected to surge to nearly ₹2 lakh crore, with losses of around ₹1 lakh crore,” market veteran Sunil Subramaniam told Mint.

On the fuel price hike, Indian Oil Corporation Limited Director (Refineries) Arvind Kumar said the increase was a "very small rise" and added that there was "a lot of pressure" on the sector.

"There is a lot of pressure. But I can tell you that Indian Oil group companies and refineries are working round the clock at more than 100% capacity so that there will be no crisis and no dryout at any of our retail outlets," he told the news agency ANI.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Friday criticised the increase in fuel rates. He said the Modi government increased petrol and diesel prices as expected after the Assembly polls in four states and one union territory, PTI reported.

"The Modi government has once again punished the people for its own failures by increasing petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per litre. This is not just a price hike; it is another direct attack on the daily lives of ordinary Indians," Siddaramaiah said.

"As we had anticipated, the cost of the union government's failed foreign policy, poor economic management, and reckless handling of inflation is now being forced on the people. Instead of protecting citizens, the Modi government is using them as a revenue source," he posted on X.

Haryana Congress will hold district-level protest demonstrations against the increase in petrol and diesel prices, according to PTI.

Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh on Friday strongly criticised the BJP-led central government over the "continuous increase in petrol and diesel prices" and alleged that their anti-people policies have forced citizens to bear the double burden of inflation.

The "constant rise in fuel prices" is pushing the common man's life into crisis and severely disturbing household budgets across the country, he said.

India’s consumers is likely to face more such hikes in fuel rates in the near term, as the government grapples with the economic impact of a months-long conflict in the Persian Gulf, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Further hikes will be allowed in order to close that gap, but they will be spread over time in order to limit the impact for ordinary households, the news agency reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

A further 2-4 rupee increase is expected soon if crude prices remain high, they told Bloomberg News. State-owned refiners have indicated they would need add closer to 15 to 20 rupees a liter in order to cope with the current crisis.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday said the hike in fuel rates was an unavoidable move due to the global energy crisis, urging citizens to understand the circumstances behind the increase, according to PTI.

Responding to the fuel price hike by state-owned oil companies, he also alleged that opposition parties were trying to "provoke people."

"The government led by PM Narendra Modi ji took this step under unavoidable circumstances. No domestic issue is responsible for this. Countries and people across the world have been affected by the energy crisis," Union Minister of Coal and Mines told reporters.

Both petrol and diesel rates have been increased by ₹3 per litre in India.
Petrol price was hiked to ₹97.77 per litre from ₹94.77 in New Deli. Diesel now costs ₹90.67 per litre, up from ₹89.67 previously, according to industry sources.

The hike, however, varies across cities due to differences in local levies.

According to the revised rates, petrol in Kolkata now costs ₹108.74 per litre, an increase of ₹3.29, while in Mumbai it rose by ₹3.14 to ₹106.68 per litre. In Chennai, petrol prices climbed by ₹2.83 to ₹103.67 per litre, a company executive said.

For regular diesel, pump prices in Kolkata increased by ₹3.11 to ₹95.13 per litre. In Mumbai, diesel now costs ₹93.14 per litre, also up by ₹3.11, while in Chennai the price rose by ₹2.86 to ₹95.25 per litre, the executive added.

A major reason behind the increase in petrol and diesel rates is the sharp rise in global energy prices following the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict in West Asia.

Global oil prices spiked to more than $120 per barrel before easing to around $100-$105 a barrel following the near-closure and severe disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, triggered by the conflict.

India is among the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices.

armers said the hike in diesel and petrol prices will put additional burden on the farmers in Andhra Pradesh.

“Already farmers are facing problems with hike in labour charges and investment cost. Now, the increase in fuel prices will cause losses to agriculture farmers,” a paddy farmer P. Mallikharjuna Rao said.

Motorists complain that, over the past few days, many retail fuel outlets in Chennai have been insisting that they buy premium petrol variants instead of regular fuel, which is costlier by ₹9 a litre.

According to reports by The Hindu, fuel outlets have also begun rationing diesel to heavy vehicles to ensure that there is no diversion of diesel to industrial users.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday slammed the Modi government over the fuel price hike, alleging an economic crisis in the country due to the government’s “leadership crisis, lack of vision and incompetence”.

In a post on X, he said, this crisis is a government-made crisis, the consequences of which the people of the country are bearing out of their own pockets on petrol, diesel, and LPG.

“The people of the country must understand that, along with the international fuel crisis, the major reason for the economic crisis in India at this time is the Modi government’s leadership crisis, lack of vision, and rampant incompetence,” he alleged. (PTI)

The latest hike in fuel prices has triggered widespread concern among motorists and daily commuters in the State capital.

According to The Hindu, in Thiruvananthapuram, petrol is now priced at ₹110.76 per litre, while diesel has touched ₹99.64 per litre. The revised rates, which came into effect on Friday morning, reflect an increase of over ₹3 per litre for both petrol and diesel.

PMK leader and former union minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday demanded that the oil companies immediately withdraw the hike in petrol and diesel prices.

In a statement, he said the international rise in crude oil prices has been cited as the reason for the country’s recent fuel price hike and accordingly, petrol and diesel have each been increased by ₹3 per litre.

Claiming that with petrol, diesel and CNG now becoming more expensive, he said that prices of vegetables, food items and other essentials are expected to rise significantly. “This will put a heavy burden on poor and middle‑income households”.