The finance ministry has rejected a cut in duties to avoid an increase in petro prices even as Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will begin a consensus-building exercise within the UPA for a fuel price hike.
In a unique protest against fuel price hike, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday rode pillion on an electric scooter to state secretariat Nabanna.
India's fuel sales surged past pre-pandemic levels in March on twin impact of the economy rebounding from the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and anticipation of price increases leading to stocking. In the first two weeks of March, dealers, as well as the public, topped up their tanks in anticipation of an increase in prices that had been on hold in the run-up to the elections in states like Uttar Pradesh. While daily price revisions restarted on March 22, the increases were calibrated.
The decision to deregulate the diesel prices is expected to bring the oil subsidy down Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion), the agency said, adding the ongoing correction in global crude prices will also result in sizable gains for the government.
Mercedes sells models ranging from A Class to Maybach, priced between Rs 28 lakh and Rs 1.67 crore.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Tuesday said petrol and diesel prices will not be increased "as of now" even as he began consultations with Finance Minister P Chidambaram on ways of mitigating the spurt in global oil prices.
After today's reduction, petrol price has been cut by Rs 12.27 per litre cumulatively since August.
State-owned fuel retailers are losing close to Rs 3 per litre on selling diesel while the profit on petrol has trimmed due to recent firming up in international oil prices, industry officials said detailing reasons for continuing to hold retail prices. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), who control roughly 90 per cent of India's fuel market, 'voluntarily' have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices for almost two years now, resulting in losses when input cost was higher and profits when raw material prices were lower.
Petrol prices may be raised by about Rs 2 per litre and diesel rates cut by Rs 0.30 a litre if a proposal to free auto fuel prices from state control is approved by the incoming cabinet.
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.
Excise duty on petrol will remain at Rs 14.35 a litre and diesel at Rs 4.60 per litre.
Describing the hike in diesel prices as a cruel joke and a "mortal blow" to the common man and farmers, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused the government of conspiring with the petrol 'mafia'. "This is a cruel joke on the common man. It has hit farmers hard during the peak paddy sowing season. We will not allow this hike. We will not allow this government to loot the common man like this," said BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Buying a car, particularly a diesel-powered one, is set to pinch the customers' pockets even more from the next financial year, as the second phase of Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) emission norms kicks in. The rules require cars to be compliant with real driving emission (RDE) norms, which measure pollutants emitted by cars while they are being driven on the road, unlike in a laboratory test. The norms may increase the cost of producing diesel vehicles by nearly Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000, and petrol-powered ones by Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, analysts said.
Petrol price on Wednesday neared all-time high after state-owned fuel retailers hiked rates after a nearly month-long hiatus. Petrol price was raised by 26 paise per litre and diesel by 25 paise a litre, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. After this increase, petrol in Delhi climbed to Rs 83.97 per litre from Rs 83.71 previously. Diesel rates rose to Rs 74.12 per litre from Rs 73.87. In Mumbai, diesel touched an all-time high of Rs 80.78.
Petrol and diesel price hike appears to have delayed impact as inflation rose to 4.14 per cent in the week ended July nine mainly due to costlier food and non-food products and minerals.\n
Diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices are unlikely to be hiked even after the end of the Monsoon Session of Parliament next week as the government is wary of taking such a decision at a time when it already has political battles on hand.
Bhartiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Thursday claimed that the 'Bharat Bandh' to protest against diesel price hike, Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPG was a great success and hoped the 'most corrupt' government since Independence has got the message and would roll back prices of diesel and not allow investments by the big international such as like Walmart to invest in India in the wholesale market.
Petrol price on Tuesday breached the Rs 85 a litre mark in the national capital and diesel neared record high after rates were raised for the second consecutive day. Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. This took the petrol price in Delhi to Rs 85.20 per litre and to Rs 91.80 in Mumbai. Diesel rate climbed to Rs 75.38 a litre in the national capital - just shying away from its record high - and to an all-time high of Rs 82.13 in Mumbai, the price data showed.
The new prices will be effective from Friday midnight.
The price of petrol is expected to come down to Rs 84.71 a litre and diesel to Rs 77.98
In a bid to minimise the impact of recent fuel price hike on consumers, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and kerosene by two per cent.
Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy has written to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee demanding a hike in excise duty on diesel cars to make up for subsidised fuel being used in vehicles.
The change from wholesale to retail inflation as an anchor means that the weightage of diesel in inflation has decreased
Price hikes of controlled petroleum products such as diesel, cooking gas and kerosene have been happening annually in the month of June, irrespective of the companies' losses.
The government on Thursday more than doubled the price of natural gas that is used to produce electricity, make fertilisers, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking, on the back of a spike in global energy prices. The price of gas produced from old regulated fields, such as the nation's largest gas field of Bassein of ONGC, will rise to a record high of $6.10 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) from the current $2.90 per mmBtu, according to the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The new price, which is likely to result in a hike in CNG and piped cooking gas rates, will be for six months beginning April 1.
The government on Thursday rejected demands for a roll back in the hike in petrol and diesel prices, saying it would favourably consider the issue only when global crude prices come down.
Diesel prices are still under control with subsidies.
A government official said out that with hardly any economic activity, an immediate duty hike will not be productive and could be announced once the lockdown eases and demand revives.
If the current trend continues, diesel will be deregulated in three months.
The RBI's surprise rate hike may have been prompted by its inability to convince the government to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel and take other supply-side measures to tame runaway inflation, sources aware of the central bank's thinking said on Thursday. There has been a record Rs 10 a litre increase in petrol and diesel prices in a matter of 16 days beginning March 22, which has further fuelled the already high commodity prices. The RBI, which is mandated to ensure inflation is under 6 per cent, acted with a 0.40 per cent increase in repo rate to check prices before they went completely out of hand.
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.
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.
This is the second increase in rates of petrol this month while in case of diesel it wipes away a part of the hike effected earlier this month
Petrol and diesel prices will go up by Rs 2.67 a litre and Rs 2.58 per litre, respectively, after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday raised customs and excise duties on the two, virtually putting the Kirit Parikh Committee report on fuel price in cold storage.
In the sixth such hike in three months, petrol price has been increased by a steep Rs 2.35 per litre and diesel by 50 paise per litre on falling rupee and firming international oil prices.
Responding to a Call Attention Motion in Rajya Sabha on the recent price hike, Deora said the July 2 increase had helped IOC, BPCL and HPCL cut their revenue losses for July from Rs 4,870 crore (Rs 48.7 billion) to around Rs 2,880 crore (Rs 28.8 billion).
Diesel rates were cut by 40 paisa to Rs 68.89 a litre. With this, the reduction in rates in last six weeks totals Rs 9.26 per litre on petrol and Rs 7.2 per litre on diesel.
Petroleum ministry has sought an increase of Rs 2.50 per litre in petrol and Rs 1.30 per litre in diesel prices in line with hike in tax rates announced in Budget and asked oil firms to bear the impact of surge in global oil prices.
Bus services in the city and some districts of West Bengal were hit on Monday as a section of private bus operators began an indefinite strike pressing for increase in fare, a demand rejected by the state government.
The state has not touched diesel prices, fearing losing revenue to neighbouring states
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