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.
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.
PM's economic advisors have suggested a hike in petrol and diesel prices to tackle the global crude prices.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not target any price level on the rupee, Governor Sanjay Malhotra reiterated at an International Monetary Fund and World Bank event on Wednesday.
According to the formula being worked out, the company would raise the fuel charge by Rs 50 for every Rs 1,000-per-kilolitre increase in the rates of jet fuel. Inversely, there would be a slide in the fares by the same amount in case of a Rs 1,000-per-kl decrease.
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.
India's fuel sales fell in the first half of April as a record rise in prices in a short 16-day period dented demand, preliminary industry data showed on Saturday. Petrol sales fell almost 10 per cent in the first half of April when compared with the same period in the preceding month, while diesel demand slid 15.6 per cent. Even cooking gas LPG, which had consistently shown growth even during the pandemic period, saw a 1.7 per cent month-on-month fall in consumption during April 1-15.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd is estimated to have earned 724 million euros (about Rs 6,850 crore) from exporting fuel made from Russian crude oil to the US in one year, an European think tank said in a report. "From January 2024 to the end of January 2025, the US imported EUR 2.8 billion of refined oil from six refineries in India and Turkey that process Russian crude.
India's annual oil import bill could rise by $9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to US threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, analysts said. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, has reaped significant benefits by swiftly substituting market-priced oil with discounted Russian crude following Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Wholesale price inflation dropped to 0.85 per cent in April as prices of food articles, manufactured products, and fuel eased, government data showed on Wednesday. WPI-based inflation was 2.05 per cent in March. It was 1.19 per cent in April last year.
Though a range of essential items still continue to be expensive, the rate of price rise has been falling for some time now.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday hinted that the system of fortnightly revision of petrol and diesel prices is likely to be replaced with monthly or quarterly revisions.
Prices have declined 18 per cent this year.
The rate of price rise of food items was 12.92 per cent in the previous week ended June 19.
The stronger than expected monsoon has not yet softened food inflation as much as it should have and in particular, vegetable prices have been impacted by weather-driven supply disruptions, said RBI Governor D Subbarao while unveiling the first quarter monetary policy review.
The government on Wednesday announced a cut in the price of petrol by Rs 2 a litre and of diesel by Re 1 a litre, a move that saw the shares of oil companies tumbling.
In a first, Indian oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) finalised a one-year contract to import around 2.2 million tonnes (mt) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the US. The LPG import deal comes at a time when negotiations for an India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA) are gathering steam. Earlier in the month, US President Donald Trump had said Washington and New Delhi were "pretty close" to reaching a fair trade deal.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, spent 2.5 billion euro on buying crude oil from Russia in September, 14 per cent less than the previous month, a European think tank said. India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday said it has halted the use of Russian crude at its export-only refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as the company moves to comply with European Union sanctions. Reliance is India's largest buyer of Russian oil, which it processes and turns into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, at its giant oil refining complex at Jamnagar.
India's consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation rate is likely to have cooled further in June, thus remaining below the 4 per cent target of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a fifth consecutive month, giving the central bank wiggle room to focus on growth. Economists reckon that the decline is on account of easing prices in various categories of goods, especially food items, and a favourable base effect.
Earlier in the day, the ministry of external affairs "strongly advised" Indians to avoid travel to Iran until further notice, amid rising tensions and protests in the Islamic Republic.
According to reports, the price of petrol is expected to go up by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 6.
In five monthly reduction, non-domestic LPG rates have been slashed by Rs 170.5 per cylinder, bringing the price at three-year lows.
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments.
Tata Motors, which now houses the company's commercial vehicle business, on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 867 crore in the September quarter, impacted by mark-to-market losses of Rs 2,026 crore on account of investment in Tata Capital.
Top Indian cement firms are expected to report a strong earnings growth for the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q2FY26) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, amid improved realisations, prices, and steady volume growth, but on a low base.
Escalating trade tensions amid a tariff war after Donald Trump took over as President of the United States (US) could adversely impact global growth and fuel inflation, an article on the "State of the Economy" in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monthly bulletin said.
'Indian refiners can operate without Russian crude from a technical standpoint, but the shift would involve major economic and strategic trade-offs'
The government on Monday ruled out any immediate increase in petrol and diesel prices despite a spurt in international crude oil prices.
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.
Essar Oil has decided to cut petrol and diesel prices in the range 50 paise to Rs 2.50 per litre effective from July 16.
The cumulative increase since the oil companies started the cycle on June 7 now totals to Rs 9.17 for petrol and Rs 11.14 for diesel.
If sources in the Congress party are to be believed, a hike in the price of petrol, diesel and cooking gas seems "inevitable".
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the latest blow to personal finances.
The Congress core group, which includes UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, will meet to vet the proposal before it goes to the Cabinet.
As the government announced a Rs 7.50 per litre hike in petrol price from midnight, anger was written on the faces of many people.
A graphic showing how the average prices for petrol and diesel have moved over the last ten years.
