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.
State oil firms on Wednesday raised jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel) price by 5 per cent in line with the spike in international oil prices, which have touched a record $71 US a barrel.
The government may defer raising the price of fuels to early next week, after the two-day national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which begins on Sunday. Such a move would provide "ammunition" to the main opposition party on a platter, according to an informed source.
Indian stock markets tumbled sharply with the Sensex falling 800 points and nearly 4 lakh crore wiped out in a single session. Here are the 6 key factors, including rupee weakness and global cues, behind the crash.
S&P Global Ratings has increased India's GDP growth forecast for the next fiscal year to 7.1 per cent, citing private consumption, investment, and exports as key drivers. However, the agency also cautioned that the conflict in the Middle East could strain India's fiscal position due to higher energy prices.
Opposition parties are demanding a full Parliament discussion on the West Asia conflict, criticising the government's silence and calling for a contingency plan to protect India's energy security and citizens.
Hike comes on back of a massive 6.14 per cent increase in rates effective from March 16 in line with rising crude oil prices.
Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha criticised the Modi government's economic policies, citing the LPG crisis, lack of energy security, and concerns over the Economic Stabilisation Fund.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday opposed the fresh hike in fuel prices, saying it will put the common man in great difficulty.
Faced with opposition from within the ruling coalition, the government has put-off till at least next week a decision on raising fuel prices that have been necessitated due to crude nearing $100 a barrel globally. The petroleum ministry has planned to take to the Cabinet this week a proposal to either marginally raise petrol and diesel prices or cut duties to offset the impact of raising international oil prices but the proposal is not being pursued this week.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation, alleging manipulation of voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal. She also questioned the abrupt resignation of Governor C V Ananda Bose and accused the BJP of anti-women policies and spreading misinformation.
Against the backdrop of the Trinamool Congress' threat to pull out of United Progressive Alliance over the petrol price rise, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday backed the government on the issue.
When asked if it would not be good for farmers as they would be rid of an anti-farmer government, CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said that the farmers would continue to die as there would be nobody to save them.
ATF in Delhi will cost Rs 56,324.79 per kilolitre, an increase of Rs 77.93 per litre or 0.13 per cent, from Rs 56,246.86 per kl, an official of the Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest fuel retailer said.
Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution Kantilal Bhuria told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that there was no immediate impact of the hike in petrol and diesel prices on essential commodities. Impact of some of the factors, including hike in prices of petrol and diesel could be felt only with a time-lag. While price of rice went up, prices of wheat, atta, chana dal, tur dal, sugar, mustard oil, vanaspati, milk & onion did not rise during the period under review.
IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation had a mildly encouraging third quarter in financial year 2026 (Q3FY26).
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed immediate demand-side measures, including remote work, lower speed limits, and reduced air travel, to mitigate the impact of a global oil supply shock caused by Middle East disruptions.
This is the second straight increase in ATF price this month. Rates were hiked by a record 56.5 per cent (Rs 12,126.75 per kl) on June 1. Simultaneously, petrol and diesel prices were hiked for the 10th day in a row.
Gold prices experienced a significant drop in futures trading due to global selloff, inflation concerns, and a strong US dollar. Analysts predict a continued downward trend amid geopolitical tensions and potential rate hikes.
In a bid to lower the impact of an unavoidable hike in petrol and diesel prices, Oil Minister Murli Deora has asked states like Delhi and Andhra Pradesh to lower sales tax (VAT) on auto fuels and shift towards specific rates.
Most of the participants in our poll believed that the hike in petroleum product prices is a positive trigger for companies.
The Bhartiya Janata Party on Sunday asked the government to unveil a concrete action plan to curb inflation effectively in a month and demanded an immediate roll back in the hike of fuel prices.
The government on Monday ruled out any immediate increase in petrol and diesel prices despite a spurt in international crude oil prices.
If sources in the Congress party are to be believed, a hike in the price of petrol, diesel and cooking gas seems "inevitable".
The Congress core group, which includes UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, will meet to vet the proposal before it goes to the Cabinet.
With the increase of $10 in per barrel price of crude oil from $80, which is bound to further raise oil companies losses to about Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion) by March 31, 2008, Assocham said in a statement "the time has ripened for the government to pass on the burden of crude prices on common man in phases."
The government on Tuesday ruled out any rollback of last month's increase in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG, and said a policy for pricing of major petroleum products was under review.
The nationwide strike on Tuesday called by the Left parties against the hike in petrol and diesel prices evoked a mixed response with it getting unruly in some parts of the country.
In the next quarter, the country will also start gearing up for various Assembly elections could put the government as well as the OMCs under pressure
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday ruled out rollback of petrol and diesel price hike saying the nation's fiscal condition did not permit him to do so.
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.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Monday ruled out any rollback in the increased prices of petroleum products, saying the hike has been reasonable and minimum. "The hike is reasonable and minimum ...," Deora told reporters here.
Decrying the hike in diesel prices as "unjustified" action, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday demanded its roll back and withdrawal of powers granted to oil companies to regulate fuel prices.
PM's economic advisors have suggested a hike in petrol and diesel prices to tackle the global crude prices.
With rupee depreciation leading to jump in oil import bill, Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday said there is an immediate need to raise fuel prices, but refused to say when the hike will actually take place.
The government's decision to raise fuel prices in June has scuttled the oil companies' plans to reduce their losses from retail fuel sales as consumers are buying less of premium fuels, which is more expensive than normal fuels.
Hitting out at the government, BJP on Wednesday scored a "double century" on price rise and questioned the "silence" of Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the "burning issue".
Petrol price on Friday was hiked by 30 paise a litre and diesel by 35 paise per litre as domestic fuel prices witnessed possibly the largest rally in rates. The price of petrol in Delhi rose to its highest-ever level of Rs 103.54 a litre and to Rs 109.54 per litre in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel rates too touched a record high of Rs 92.12 in Delhi and inched closer to the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Mumbai. It currently costs Rs 99.92 a litre in Mumbai.
Accusing the government of 'violating Parliamentary propriety', BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the move to hike petrol and diesel prices "raises suspicion as to which companies will be benefited by this decision." "The government has been saying that the public sector oil companies have been making profits and giving dividends to it. Then why this secrecy," she asked. Swaraj attacked the Congress for 'betraying' the common people.
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