TMC MPs were told about the problem in running an economy of India's size and the problems of public finance.
With global crude oil prices climbing to their highest level in two-and-a-half years, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Friday said a ministerial panel will take a call on raising petrol and diesel prices.
Savings for Indian refiners from purchasing Russian oil have decreased to a third of what they were in the years following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which triggered global crises, sanctions, and discounted Russian oil seeking buyers. Despite this, savings from importing cheap Russian oil were significant enough to help Indian refiners tide over frozen petrol and diesel pump prices.
Facing all-round criticism for a steep hike of Rs 1.80 a litre in petrol price, state-owned oil companies on Friday said they will roll back the increase in rate if the government gives a directive to that effect.
Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Wednesday ruled out hiking petrol and diesel prices in step with the firming up of international oil prices and the increase in excise duties.
Here is a list of items set to become cheaper and costlier.
This trend is likely to gain pace with the new infrastructure cess on diesel vehicles.
While consumers feel that petrol pinches directly, diesel hurts indirectly, as it is an input in almost all the goods and services we use.
The surprise decision of OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to cut oil output may cause an immediate rise in prices, delaying revision in fuel prices in India, industry sources said. The grouping of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, called OPEC+, on Sunday decided to further cut oil output by around 1.16 million barrels. The move led to Brent rising by almost 6 per cent to $84.58 per barrel on Monday.
Faced with the prospect of revenue loss on fuel jumping to Rs 700 billion (Rs 70,000 crore) next fiscal, Petroleum Ministry on Wednesday called for "harsh decisions" even as it hinted that cleaner Euro-IV fuel in 13 metro cities will cost more from April 1.
The government on Friday decontrolled petroleum prices to bring fuel costs in line with global oil rates after an Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, met for the second time in less than three weeks to decide on raising fuel prices. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was absent again.
According to reports, the price of petrol is expected to go up by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 6.
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State-owned oil firms are likely to announce reduction in rates, made possible because of softening in international oil rates, this evening, government and industry sources said.
International crude oil prices may have eased but the government has no immediate plans to pass on the benefit to the consumers, as it wants to wait for the prices to stabilise further.
Attributing the steep hike in petrol prices to declining value of rupee, Planning Commission on Wednesday said it will have immediate impact on the price situation but things will stabilise in the long run.
Adding petrol and diesel to GST was a challenging task due to their significant role as revenue generators for both the central and state governments.
The Planning Commission said the decision of oil marketing companies to raise petrol price by Rs 3.14 per litre is a good news and will provide credibility to the economic reforms process.
Petrol price was freed from government control in June 2010 but public sector companies continue to informally consult their parent Oil Ministry before taking a decision.
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.
The VW cars are well known in the country's car market for having sturdy body structures, which are combined with powerful fuel efficient engines and abundant comfort and safety features.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday hinted at replacing the current practice of fortnightly revision of petrol and diesel prices with a more stable pricing policy once the volatile international crude prices stabilise.
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.
Petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to be reduced in line with falling international prices as the government is working on a stable pricing regime.
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.
"There is no immediate plan to decontrol diesel or LPG as they have cascading effect (on general prices)," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh told reporters in New Delhi.
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.
Congress said ATF prices have been reduced by 31% while petrol only 16%.
Faced with huge under-recoveries, Indian Oil Corporation on Saturday sought an immediate upward revision of petrol and diesel prices to the the extent of Rs 10.50 paise per litre.
Facing difficulties in daily operations due to constant increase of fuel prices by oil marketing companies, the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers' Association have threatened to go on a one-day strike.
A formal announcement is likely in Parliament on Wednesday. This will reverse half of the price hike in June, when petrol price was increased by Rs 4 and diesel by Rs 2.
Government may raise petrol price by Rs 2 a litre and diesel by Re 1 a litre this week, but a duty rejig to minimise impact of high international crude oil prices looks unlikely. The decision on this will be taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Days after saying that there is no need for subsidies to achieve greater penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday clarified that the view is his own, but any official call on EV subsidies is not one that he can take.
According to police, CPI-M legislator K Bhimrao and other party supporters were arrested from Guindy railway station in Chennai.
The recent petrol and diesel price hike by the government did not go down well with the common people who expressed their\ndispleasure over this pre-Budget move. The prices were raised by as much as 10 per cent on Wednesday.
The Ministry Of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ruled out a hike in the prices of petrol and diesel in the near future even as the price of the Indian basket of crude oil continues to remain above $65 a barrel.
India should learn to live with high energy prices for rapid economic growth, said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia after two of the state-owned oil companies hiked petrol rates this week.
Centre and state governments are steadily increasing excise duties and value-added tax
We no longer have the ambition to rival China save through words. We are happy to be fighting ourselves and digging up disputes from centuries ago as a substitute for real development, argues Aakar Patel.
The information technology and telecom ministries spent a whopping Rs 53.14 lakh on petrol in two years, according to a RTI report.
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