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.
Oil marketing companies on Friday cut petrol price by 32 paise, and diesel by 85 paise a litre with effect from midnight tonight.
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.
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
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.
22 images that captures glimpses of a most unusual Indian who led the nation for 10 years.
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
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.
The government may not revise petrol and diesel prices on April 1 as Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who has piloted a note on the issue for discussion in the Cabinet, will be out of the country at the next due date for revision in fuel prices
Ahead of assembly polls in states like Rajasthan and Delhi, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said his ministry is mulling withdrawing the order that made it mandatory for state public transport utilities to buy diesel at market price.
State-owned oil firms have seen their losses on diesel sales widen to over Rs 6 per litre, even as a ministerial panel meeting on raising prices has not yet been scheduled.
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.
After all, general elections are round the corner and it is not reforms but hand-outs that will fetch greater returns.
The government is mulling a Rs 2-3 per litre hike in petrol and diesel prices, as oil firms are losing around Rs 10 per litre on the two fuels due to hardening global prices.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned twice while the opposition parties staged a walkout in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, voicing their protest against the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas LPG.
The Union Cabinet is likely to review prices of petrol and diesel as crude oil price continue to move northward.
The Congress government had always tried to deal blow to poors, the Bihar Chief Minister said, adding the price of petrol would also increase inflation and it will add to the people's misery.
The government has no plans to increase petrol and diesel prices even though international crude rates have touched $100 per barrel, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy said in Panipat on Tuesday.
For the second time in as many months, the Government on Wednesday night cut petrol price by Rs 5 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, while the domestic LPG rate was also slashed by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.
It's time government used oil windfall wisely.
GCMMF member daires do not rule out the possibility of price rise.
Close on the heels of steep increase in diesel price and cap on supply of subsidised LPG, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said greater alignment of domestic rates with global prices was in the interest of both consumers and investors.
The empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is being convened soon to discuss a combination of a price hike and a reduction in government duties.
Oil companies have welcomed the hike in petrol and diesel as it will help them cut losses on sale of fuel.
This is the third increase in two months
Petrol will cost Rs 3.73 per litre more from today (Friday), while diesel prices have been increased by Rs 2 a litre. Also, your cooking gas cylinder will now cost Rs 35 more, while kerosene will be priced Rs 3 per litre more.
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.
The prime minister had expressed concern over the price rise and convened a meeting of chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee said.
The Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs is expected to meet on Wednesday evening to take this decision, given the cheap crude prices in the global market. The government had last cut petrol prices on December by Rs 5, and diesel rates by Rs 2 a litre.
In November last year, Hyundai Motor India Ltd announced putting on hold its Rs 400-crore (Rs 4-billion) diesel engine plant which would have an installed capacity of 150,000 units per annum.
In first clear indications of a further reduction in petrol and diesel prices, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Monday said the government was considering passing on the benefit of the fall in international crude oil prices to consumers.
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.
Thirteen big cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune and Sholapur will move from Euro-III grade fuel to Euro-IV from Thursday.
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.
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the third increase in rates since May on firming international energy prices. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy, after the government restricted subsidy to just poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
Petrol prices are likely to be cut by over one rupee a litre early next week as appreciation in value of rupee against US dollar and fall in global oil rates has made imports cheaper.
Buckling under pressure, the government on Wednesday cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 respectively to bring down retail rates from record highs. The announcement comes on the eve of Diwali which will help bring down the skyrocketing prices of fuel and provide some relief to the common man battling inflation.
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.
