Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 60 paisa per litre on Monday, for the second day in a row, as State-owned oil firms reverted to daily price revisions after an 83-day hiatus. Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 72.46 per litre from Rs 71.86 on Sunday, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 70.59 a litre from Rs 69.99, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.
In 12 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 6.55 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.04 a litre.
Oil marketing companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL have invited expressions of interest from start-ups that wish to be enrolled as fuel entrepreneurs for doorstep delivery of high-speed diesel through mobile petrol pumps.
'We are seeing one of the highest discounts in recent years across companies.' 'October is a crucial month with several festivals coming up.'
India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, in July bought $2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, second only to China which remains the largest importer of Russian oil, a report said. Russia emerged as India's biggest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, after Russian oil was available on discount following some European nations shunning purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The entire range of Hyundai's diesel cars - from compact ones to SUV models, including the soon-to-be-launched Aura - will be eco-friendly.
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 15 per cylinder in line with a surge in international fuel prices. Rates of both subsidised and non-subsidised LPG prices were hiked, oil company officials said. Cooking gas now costs Rs 899.50 per cylinder in Delhi.
While eight bodies were brought to the state-run North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) after the accident on Monday morning, two persons died during treatment, he said.
Three industry bodies suggested changes in India's tax regime in their pre-Budget discussions with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra in New Delhi on Tuesday. The bodies - Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) - held separate meetings with Malhotra during the day and put across their suggestions for the upcoming Budget.
In nine hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 5 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.87 a litre.
Auto manufacturers have focused on launching CNG variants of their popular models to meet consumer demand for vehicles with lower running costs.
The market responded positively to the Q1 results of oil marketing companies (OMCs), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) despite numbers being weaker than consensus. BPCL's reported gross refining margin (GRM) was in line at $7.9 per barrel (bbl) in Q1FY25, which implies marketing margin stood at Rs 4.8 per litre. Standalone profit after tax or PAT at Rs 3,000 crore was down versus consensus due to under-recoveries in LPG business.
Jet fuel prices on Monday were hiked by a steep 6.5 per cent on the back of a rally in international oil prices. Aviation turbine fuel or ATF price was hiked by Rs 3,663 per kilolitre, or 6.5 per cent, to Rs 59,400.91 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the third increase in jet fuel prices since February. Rates were increased by 3.6 per cent on February 16, and by Rs 3,246.75 per kl on February 1. The increase in rates will add to the margin woes of airlines who continue to operate flights at less than capacity, amid pandemic-driven travel restrictions.
In all, petrol price has gone up by Rs 1.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.78 a litre in three days.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday by 35 paise per litre, pushing the total increase in rates on petrol to Rs 36 per litre and on diesel to Rs 26.58 since early May 2020 when taxes on the two fuels were raised to record levels. Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 107.24 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 95.97, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The latest increase that follows the unrelenting hike in international oil prices has pushed pump rates across the country to their highest-ever levels.
India needs to recognise and address challenges posed by its dependence on China for critical minerals and examine the implications of phasing down coal on bank balance sheets as it accelerates its green transition, the government's Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday said. As part of its national plan to contribute to meeting the global goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to reducing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday ruled out upside risks to the 5.3 per cent inflation forecast for the current fiscal, saying the recent cut in excise duty on diesel and petrol as well as better management of supply-side issues on the food front have contained inflationary expectations. These measures are significantly positive for inflation management, he said. After months of calls for reducing taxes on fuels, the government, last week, cut the excise duty on diesel and petrol by Rs 10 and Rs 5 per litre, respectively.
Tata Motors on Wednesday said it remains confident about the long-term prospects of the electric vehicle segment and termed the fall in sales numbers a "short-term" issue. In an interaction with PTI at the launch of the company's first mid-sized electric SUV, Curvv.ev, at a starting price of Rs 17.49 lakh (with 45 kWh battery) Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle and Tata Passenger Electric, said that the company is looking to achieve one-lakh electric vehicle sales this financial year. Curvv EV is the second car based on the advanced Pure EV architecture - acti.ev, which marks Tata Motors' entry into the highly competitive mid-size SUV segment and will be competing with the likes of MG ZS EV, Hyundai Creta and Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, among others.
Petrol price cut by Rs 1.46, diesel by Rs 1.53 per litre
Several carmakers, including car market leader Maruti Suzuki India pulled the plug on diesel models citing higher costs for BSVI variants leaving buyers with limited options.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 77.28 per litre from Rs 76.73, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 75.79 a litre from Rs 75.19, according to a price notification from State oil marketing companies. Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
With rising petrol and diesel prices driving up demand for its CNG vehicles, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India plans to widen its CNG portfolio by offering the fuel option in four more models 'very shortly', according to a senior company official. The company, which plans to launch an electric vehicle (EV) in the Indian market by 2025, is also currently keeping a close watch on the country's EV ecosystem "to find out what is the best way of evolution" to be able to offer affordable EVs with hassle free charging infrastructure in order to clock high volumes for a sustainable business.
In five hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 2.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.83.
'I have no problems with the finance ministry or with state governments treating petrol pump prices as the last resort for meeting their ambitious spending targets with very limited revenue resources.' 'But let's do away with this smokescreen of free pricing of petrol and diesel and go back to administered pricing regime,' says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
While the share of diesel vehicles sales in the overall passenger car industry has already fallen sharply, sales of CNG vehicles have shown a compound annual growth rate of 15.5 per cent over the past five years.
'At present, hybrids emit lesser carbon despite using fuel than pure play electric cars.' 'That is because EVs have to be charged and 76 per cent of the country's electricity is still coal-based and not renewables.'
The coaching-tuition-profiteering model built on the back of a broken education system is a scandal and an abomination, and must go, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Maruti is sticking to this strategy at a time when rival Hyundai is looking to make the most of the monopoly it will have in the compact diesel segment from April 1, 2020, when the BSVI emission norms kick in. The market leader's confidence stems from the rapid shift in favour of petrol in the PV segment. For newer models such as MG Hector and Seltos, nearly 75 per cent bookings are for petrol variants, Kia has 55 per cent from petrol variants. The change in customer preference from diesel variants to petrol has happened quickly over the past few years.
The diesel car becomes too expensive with BS-VI and market assessment says the customer will not buy it at that price, says R C Bhargava, chairman, MSIL. He expects buyer preference to change swiftly in favour of petrol, CNG, and other alternative technologies.
In 16 days, petrol price has been hiked by Rs 8.3 per litre and diesel by Rs 9.46 - a record increase in rates of the fuel in any fortnight since pricing was deregulated in April 2002.
With the fight now having been taken to the seizure of nuclear plants, it is one more warning to Europe that this prolonged war could end up with disastrous consequences, observes Rashme Sehgal
The government on Tuesday increased the windfall profit tax on crude oil produced in the country and reduced the levy on exports of diesel. The tax, levied in the form of Special Additional Excise Duty or SAED, on domestically produced crude oil was increased to Rs 9,800 per tonne from Rs 9,050 a tonne, according to an official notification. SAED on the export of diesel was reduced to Rs 2 per litre from Rs 4 a litre and on jet fuel or ATF to nil from Rs 1, the notification said.
Petrol pumps in Mumbai, Nagpur and other parts of the state witnessed long queues on Tuesday as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel amid the protest by truck drivers.
Many individual states experienced higher inflation than the all-India figures during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Retail inflation figures in Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have been higher than national numbers every month of this financial year, shows a Business Standard analysis of state-wise figures, after the March inflation data was released on Friday. Experts noted that persistent high food inflation along with differences in the weights of rural and urban indices plays into the regional variation in inflation rates.
A rise in petrol and diesel consumption can help the government cut cesses on the fuels by Rs 4.5 a litre without impacting revenue collections of FY21, and help cool off the pressure on inflation, domestic rating agency ICRA said on Friday. Petrol consumption is estimated to increase 14 per cent in 2021-22 and diesel by 10 per cent on the lower base, rise in mobility and economic recovery, ICRA said. The rating agency added that it will result in an additional Rs 40,000 crore in revenue for the government through higher collections of the cess.
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Petrol price in the national capital neared the Rs 85 a litre mark while diesel rates in Mumbai were close to Rs 82 as fuel prices were raised by 25 paise per litre each on Monday. Petrol now costs a lifetime high of Rs 84.95 per litre in Delhi while diesel comes for Rs 75.13, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. The price hike on Monday came after three days of unchanged rates. Prices were last hiked by 50 paise a litre in two instalments on January 13 and 14.
Prices of both petrol and diesel rose for the first time in over 12 months as oil marketing companies raised rates to make up for rising cost of production. The rupee-dollar exchange rate also played spoilsport. Petrol price was on Monday hiked by 5 paise per litre and diesel by 10 paise a litre.