Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa became the only member of the family to retain a cabinet position in his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa's new cabinet of 17 ministers appointed on Monday, as the island nation was facing the worst economic crisis.
The government is yet to make up its mind on increasing auto fuel prices and more consultations are likely before a decision is taken on the issue in step with the surge in international crude oil prices.
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 Maharashtra government has decided to reduce the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 3 per litre respectively, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said in Mumbai on Thursday.
With fuel being the main input cost for the transport sector, rise in cost of operations is a given. The sector is unsure on the extent of being able to pass this on through rentals or to absorb it with higher volumes.
Home-grown automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra, whose sales are predominantly driven by diesel-powered utility vehicles, has said an increase of Rs 5 a litre in the price of the fuel or a differential of up to 20 per cent with petrol price will not impact vehicle sales.
"I am not happy at the cut in petrol price by Rs two per litre. It is not enough. It is still a burden on the common man. There should have been a total roll back of the hike," she told media persons at the state secretariat in Kolkata
This rule came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to conserve oil in 'Man Ki Baat'
The cess collected on cars as also tobacco and coal will be used to compensate the revenue loss of states by implementing GST.
The dollar devaluation has seen revenue loss incurred by state-run oil firms on fuel sales trimming to about Rs 96 crore per day.
The oil ministry has stopped making fresh allocation of natural gas from domestic fields to the city gas sector, threatening the viability of Rs 2 lakh crore investment planned in the sector besides leading to a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas prices to record levels, sources said. Despite a decision of the Union Cabinet to give 100 per cent gas supply under 'no cut' priority to the city gas distribution (CGD) sector, current supplies have been maintained at March 2021 demand level. Besides, the process of allocating gas on a six-monthly average drawl also is punishing the CGD entities driving growth.
State-run oil companies on Monday increased prices of diesel and petrol by Re 1 per litre each.
Ford India is expected to increase the price of its newly launched premium sedan Ford Fiesta in about a month by Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000.
Passenger and commercial vehicle prices are expected to rise as automobile companies invest in upgrading vehicles to meet stricter emission norms that kick in from April next year. The Indian automobile industry is currently working to make their products meet the second phase of Bharat Stage VI, equivalent to Euro-VI emission norms, in real time driving conditions. Four-wheeler passenger and commercial vehicles will need more sophisticated equipment to be added to meet the next level of emission standards.
Gandhi said the one paisa cut in petrol rates was not a "suitable response" to the fuel challenge he threw to the prime minister a few days ago.
India's demand for petroleum products like petrol and diesel will grow by 7.73 per cent in 2022, the fastest pace in the world, an OPEC report said. India's demand for oil products is projected to rise from 4.77 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 5.14 million bpd in 2022, OPEC said in its monthly oil report. The growth in demand is the fastest in the world ahead of 1.23 per cent of China, 3.39 per cent of the US and 4.62 per cent of Europe.
A top oil ministry official said it will be "suicidal" to even think of raising prices of diesel, LPG or kerosene just before Parliament is to meet.
The oil sector has been quite lucky for the Modi government. It has often provided an opportunity to the government to mend its finances, notes A K Bhattacharya.
The logic of deregulation was that the consumer was protected no matter what the price of crude. But now the reverse has happened. The government is protected no matter what the price of crude, observes Aakar Patel.
Higher prices are burdening household budgets and threatening the margins of leading manufacturers.
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi "Saheb" during a discussion on the government's resolution on good works in the Delhi assembly's special session, Kejriwal said the nation is not with him in his "theatrics".
'According to CMIE data, employment in manufacturing saw a reduction from 51 million in the country in 2016 to 27 million in 2021. 'That is, it has halved in just 5 years. 'At the same time, the national lockdown resulted in reverse migration to rural areas, and an increase in the number of workers in agriculture. 'It also means joblessness has increased in agriculture because there are too many workers; the number of workers went up from 200 million to 232 million.'
The primary and immediate impact of a depreciating rupee is on the importers who will have to shell out more for the same quantity and price. However, it is a boon for the exporters as they receive more rupees in exchange for dollars. The rupee depreciation has wiped away some of the gains that would have accrued to India from international oil and fuel prices dropping to pre-Ukraine war levels.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora has announced that the cabinet will soon take a decision on fuel price hike.
With the government not continuing with lower excise duty beyond December 31, major car makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, GM India and Honda have raised vehicle prices by up to Rs 127,000.
PM's economic advisors have suggested a hike in petrol and diesel prices to tackle the global crude prices.
Indian Oil Corporation sought an increase in prices of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene on Tuesday as spiralling global oil prices had put "enormous" burden and may result in a revenue loss of over Rs 8,500 crore (Rs 85 billion) this fiscal. While the government and oil companies were bearing their share of the burden, the consumers have so far been spared from any hike in fuel prices despite crude oil touching a historic high of $93 per barrel.
A day after a group of Congress MLAs met Sachin Pilot, another party legislator on Friday expressed support for the dissident leader as trouble brewed again in Rajasthan's ruling party.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, to protest against government policies affecting workers, farmers, and people. The Joint Platform of central trade unions held a meeting in Delhi on March 22, 2022, to take stock of the preparations in various states and sectors for the proposed two-day all India strike on 28-29 March 2022 against "the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies" of the central government, a statement said. The statement said that roadways, transport workers and electricity workers have decided to join the strike in spite of the impending threat of ESMA (Haryana and Chandigarh, respectively). Financial sectors, including banking and insurance, are joining the strike, it stated.
Premium carmaker Mitsubishi on Wednesday said it will increase the price of its newly launched sports utility vehicle Outlander by about two per cent from next month, thus withdrawing the introductory offer on the vehicle.
The Congress core group is meeting later in the evening where the implementation of Kirit Parikh Committee report on fuel pricing reforms may be discussed.
From April 2020, manufacturers will have to hike prices of diesel cars sharply to accommodate the costs incurred in the transition to BS VI emission norms, and widening the gap between a diesel and petrol car.
The Budget has levied a pollution cess on petrol, diesel cars and SUVs and offered a one-time compliance window for domestic black money holders slapping a tax and penalty of 45 per cent.
In an apparent U-turn, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi rejected reports that he has threatened a pullout from the United Progressive Alliance government over the recent petrol price hike.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member Brinda Karat came down heavily on Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and some other UPA allies terming them as 'hyprocrites' on various issues, including the petrol price hike.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday made a case for increasing prices of petrol and diesel arguing that it was not a good idea to check inflation by keeping prices of petroleum products low.
BJP-ruled Maharashtra levies 46.52 per cent VAT (47.64 per cent in Mumbai) on petrol, the highest in the country.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Monday the Centre was trying its best not to increase the prices of petroleum products like petrol and diesel even though the international oil prices had registered an upward trend in the past few months.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday called for linking petrol and diesel prices with international markets and made a case for raising gas prices by public sector companies.
