Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Saturday said the government is considering to prices of petroleum products in the next few days.
Oil companies on Wednesday slashed petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2, with effect from midnight tonight.
It has been a week since 41 labourers got trapped inside an under-construction tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district after parts of the structure collapsed following a landslide last Sunday.
The increases, which follow similar hikes in mid-November, seek to take advantage of a slump in world oil prices to shore up government revenues without stoking inflation.
With the rupee continuing to remain weak against the US dollar, losses on diesel have climbed to Rs 9.45 per litre, upsetting the government's subsidy maths.
The government on Tuesday ruled out any further increase in diesel and cooking fuel prices even though the current retail rates are lower than their cost of production.
Government may impose a 25 per cent cess on big diesel cars and charge bulk users other than railways and state transport corporations Rs 22 a litre more for diesel as part of a dual fuel pricing policy.
This increase excludes local levies. The actual hike after considering VAT would be Rs 2.84 per litre in Delhi for petrol and Rs 2.11 for diesel.
The current complex pricing of diesel will give rise to bribery and law-breaking.
To help cut down on current account deficit.
Raise the price of diesel and restrict supply of subsidised LPG cylinder in a year to four per family, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Panel suggested on Friday.
"We had announced last year that the decision would be taken at an appropriate time to deregulate diesel, the government hasn't changed their decision... We have to see how the inflationary pressures go and take a decision," Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra told reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham function.
Diesel prices should be immediately hiked by Rs 4-5 per litre, the Kirit Parikh Committee has recommended while favouring continuation of existing pricing principles for controlled petroleum products.
Diesel sales in the country zoomed by 15 per cent in the first fortnight of April 2004, triggered off largely by the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
Excise duty on petrol will remain at Rs 14.35 a litre and diesel at Rs 4.60 per litre.
Diesel prices are raised every month by up to 50 paise per litre to trim the losses. Rates were last raised on August 1 after which losses had dipped to Rs 1.33.
Close on the heels of reducing prices of premium mid-size sedan Baleno, India's largest carmaker Maruti Udyog Ltd on Friday announced a price cut of Rs 38,000 on the diesel versions of its mid-size car Esteem.
Delhi, labelled the world's most polluted city in a 2014 World Health Organization survey, alone makes up about 7 per cent of total Indian auto sales.
India's move to raise the price of subsidised diesel should help with its plans to sell shares in state companies, including Oil India Ltd, to help bridge the government's fiscal deficit and gives a boost to private oil refiners looking to enter the market for bulk diesel sales.
In its analysis of truck rentals and diesel prices in the country between September to November period, IFTRT said, the government's decision to reduce diesel price by Rs 2 per litre last year has not benefited the common man as freight rates have been maintained at high levels.
Close on the heels of a 70 paise per litre hike in petrol prices, the Oil Ministry is pushing for an increase in diesel and domestic cooking gas LPG prices, even though it is unsure of political support for the unpopular move with the ruling UPA alliance.
With vast disparity in fuel prices, the demand for diesel cars had reached upto 85 per cent and petrol cars had come down to 15 per cent, which otherwise usually remained at 50:50 per cent levels in India.
The government on Tuesday said it has agreed in-principle to deregulate diesel prices, but is not considering similar proposal for the cooking gas.
The commercial capital may face shortage of petrol and diesel from Tuesday if agitating transporters stop ferrying petroleum products.\n\n\n\n
Between April-June 2016-17, the additional excise duty mop up on these two products stood at Rs 17,692 crore.
State-owned oil companies may raise petrol prices by Rs 1.50-Rs 2 per litre early next week, while a Rs 2 a litre hike in diesel rates is under the government consideration, a senior official said.
With food inflation ruling at uncomfortable level, Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Thursday ruled out freeing of diesel prices from government control, saying the move was not politically and practically feasible.
Petrol gets expensive but diesel is cheaper by Rs 1.35/ per litre.
An increase in petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene prices looks "imminent" after the Finance Ministry said it has no money to provide for fuel subsidy.
Diesel price needs to be revised upward, or subjected to higher taxes, as misuse of subsidized diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, the government's pre-budget economic report card said on Thursday.
Diesel price needs to be revised upward, or subjected to higher taxes, as misuse of subsidized diesel was adding to pollution and public health costs, the government's pre-budget economic report card said on Thursday.
Aramco Trading Co, a subsidiary of state oil giant Saudi Aramco, offered 2.8 million barrels of ultra low sulphur diesel for loading in late July to early August
It is the seventh reduction in jet fuel rates since August
The calculations done on June 25 were mostly based on the average international price in the first fortnight of June.
The government is mulling a marginal hike in petrol and diesel price along with an excise duty cut on auto fuels to cut the Rs 7,840 crore (Rs 78.40 billion) loss public sector oil firms are incurring every month on selling fuel below cost.
Indian Oil, which has an over 60 per cent share of fuel sales in Punjab, has observed a 14.18 per cent jump in diesel sales between January 1 and 17.
VW cheating a 'well thought-out crime', diesel cars under lens
Personal and healthcare major Emami group on Tuesday announced setting up of a bio-diesel plant at Haldia, the first in West Bengal, with an investment of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion).
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