Reliance Industries, India's largest private fuel retailer, may cut petrol and diesel prices by about Re one per litre on Thursday in step with a fall in international oil prices.
India has taken up the issue of high oil prices with producer nations and OPEC, demanding affordable rates, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli told the Lok Sabha on Monday. Petrol and diesel prices have shot up to record highs across the country after relentless price increases since early May. Petrol is retailing above Rs 100 a litre in more than a dozen states.
This may come as a surprise to many. Retail price inflation in petrol was the lowest at 10.21 per cent in March since November 2020. In diesel, it scraped the bottom of the barrel at 5.19 per cent in the last month of 2021-22 since February 2020. Even liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was at a nine-month low of 9.97 per cent in the month.
Despite a massive decline in crude oil prices since 2012 -- Modi has been prime minister in six of these eight years -- petrol in Delhi has become 10 per cent costlier and diesel 97 per cent, as of July 2.
22 images that captures glimpses of a most unusual Indian who led the nation for 10 years.
Here's how political leaders reacted to the government's decision to hike the price of diesel by Rs 5 and limit the number of subsidised gas cylinders to six per household per year.
Low oil prices drove the growth in states' share faster than expected, says Abhishek Waghmare.
The principal Opposition party said an immediate cut in petrol and diesel prices was required in the larger interest of the nation. The BJP also demanded that interest rate on housing loans be brought down to 6 per cent and a real push be given for infrastructure development to 'avoid a catastrophe'.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday hoped that the reduction in petrol and diesel prices would to some extent help ease inflation.
The price differential has been upwards of 20%.
The government has cut windfall profit tax on export of diesel and ATF to their lowest while also reducing the levy on domestically-produced crude in line with softening international oil prices, according to an official order. The levy on crude oil produced by companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has been cut to Rs 4,350 per tonne from Rs 5,050 per tonne, the order dated February 15 said. Crude oil pumped out of the ground and from below the seabed is refined and converted into fuels like petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
If the current trend continues, diesel will be deregulated in three months.
The government on Wednesday announced a cut of Rs 2 per litre in petrol and Re 1 in diesel prices from midnight tonight.
India, the world's third largest oil consuming and importing nation, bought crude oil worth 49 billion euros from Russia in the third year of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a global think tank said. India, which has traditionally sourced its oil from the Middle East, began importing a large volume of oil from Russia soon after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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.
State-run oil companies on Monday increased prices of diesel and petrol by Re 1 per litre each.
After natural gas prices, the government looks set to bite the bullet on auto fuel prices, with a panel of ministers scheduled to meet on June 7 to decide on freeing petrol and diesel prices.
BPCL gained nearly 4% to Rs 674, while HPCL gained more than 2% to Rs 451.
Petrol gets expensive but diesel is cheaper by Rs 1.35/ per litre.
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.
The new prices will be effective from Friday midnight.
Essar Oil has cut petrol and diesel prices by an average of Rs 1.50 a litre to bring them at par with that of public sector firms.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said it is not possible to bring petrol and diesel under the GST regime for the next eight to 10 years as it would cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to all states. Centre and states collectively collect over Rs 5 lakh crore tax on petroleum products, Modi told the Rajya Sabha while participating in a discussion on the Finance Bill 2021. The statement assumes significance in view of the rise in petrol price for the past over one year which even touched Rs 100 per litre in some states. In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February.
Global oil prices have slumped and India has access to larger amounts of discounted Russian crude oil, yet refiners are not passing on their savings to consumers
While hinting that further cut in petrol and diesel prices was likely during the next revision, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik on Saturday ruled out any possibility of increase in prices of LPG and kerosene
India's oil minister Murli Deora said on Saturday that the\ngovernment would consider a downward revision of fuel prices if international crude\nprices came down.
The government ruled out any major jump in petrol and diesel prices after the elections, but said a review to bring the domestic prices in line with the raw material cost will be done by the new government.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is believed to be in favour of giving state-run oil firms freedom to fix price of petrol and diesel in step with cost, as he feels the current moderate global oil rates may be the last window India has to deregulate fuel pricing.
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.
It is time he stood up and assured the middle class that they can count on him as one of their own, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
With the 72-hour deadline to the Centre to rollback diesel price hike, LPG subsidy cap and FDI in multi-brand retail expiring on Monday, the Trinamool Congress mounted fresh pressure with a Union minister belonging to it listing three options, including withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance.
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.
The Union government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that has pushed the total incidence of taxation on auto fuels to 70 per cent of the price. Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.
Oil marketing companies on Friday cut petrol price by 32 paise, and diesel by 85 paise a litre with effect from midnight tonight.
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 divestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may hit a fuel price hurdle, according to officials dealing with the matter. They pointed out that the inconspicuous administered price regime could hamper the prospects for potential buyers of BPCL. A senior oil ministry official said public-sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs) take a hit when they sell petrol, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), three of the most popular petroleum products in the country.
Petrol and diesel prices were cut on Thursday by Rs 2 and Re 1 per litre, respectively, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora announced.
Earlier in April, the price was reduced by 85 paise per litre.
Move likely to be rolled back atleast for state transport undertakings
India's export of fuels like diesel to the European Union jumped 58 per cent in the first three quarters of 2024, with a bulk of them likely coming from refining discounted Russian oil, according to a monthly tracker report. The EU/G7 countries in December 2022 introduced a price cap and an embargo on the imports of Russian crude oil in a bid to cripple Kremlin's revenue and create a vacuum in its funding for the invasion of Ukraine.
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