BackPetrol, diesel price hike: Centre, states should talk to lower fuel prices, says FM
It's a vexatious issue in which no answer except for fall in fuel price will convince anyone, says FMOn Saturday, petrol price was hiked by record 39 paise per litre and diesel by 37 paise a litre
PremiumFuel prices in India have witnessed a steep climb since the past two weeks. Petrol and diesel prices in India rose for the 12th consecutive day on Saturday. Commenting on the hike in fuel price, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday, "It's a vexatious issue in which no answer except for fall in fuel price will convince anyone." "It is also a fact that (global) crude rate has been recovering from November," she added.
The OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is also likely to cut output, "further aggravating the stress on price"," Sitharaman said.
To bring some respite to the common man, finance minister mentioned, "Both Centre and state should talk to bring down retail fuel price at a reasonable level for consumers."
Central and state taxes make up for 60% of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54% of diesel. On the excise duty levied by the Centre on fuel, Sitharaman said there was ‘no guarantee’ that, if the central government forwent its share, the states would not fill the space.
On Saturday, petrol price was hiked by record 39 paise per litre and diesel by 37 paise a litre. This was the largest daily increase since oil companies started to revise rates on a daily basis in 2017.
Petrol price on Saturday touched an all-time high of ₹97 per litre in Mumbai while diesel rate crossed ₹88 -mark. In Delhi, petrol price increased to ₹90.58 a litre. Diesel price rose to ₹80.97 a litre in the national capital on Saturday. Petrol price already surged past the ₹100-mark in some places in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
In 12 days, retail petrol prices have risen by ₹3.63 a litre, a record since the pricing was deregulated in 2010, and diesel rates have gone up by ₹3.84.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the middle-class would not have been burdened if the previous governments had focussed on reducing India's energy import dependence.
Without referring to the relentless increase in retail fuel prices, which are linked to international rates, he said India imported over 85% of its oil needs in the 2019-20 financial year and 53% of its gas requirement.
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