No respite from petrol, diesel price hike yet as govt talks underway: Sources
Petrol and diesel price today remained stable after at least four continuous hikes last week. The two-day respite from fuel price hike may not last long, according to sources, who say that price revision is expected to resume soon.
According to sources quoted by news agency ANI, the Centre is in talks with the countries exporting oil to India. According to the source, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas recently raised concerns about the matter of pricing, supply and demand of oils to the major oil-producing countries.
"As crude oil prices rise internationally, the petroleum ministry has called on the energy ministries of many countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Russia and others," the source was quoted by ANI.
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Petrol and diesel prices have reached an all-time high on Sunday. The price of a litre of petrol now costs ₹105.84 in Delhi, while diesel costs ₹94.57 per litre. Around 60 per cent of the price of fuel is attributed to several central and state taxes, which keep the prices on the higher side.
Recently, the Centre tried to raise the matter with the states governments during the GST Council meeting, where the idea to bring petrol and diesel under the new tax regime was proposed. However, some of the states have opposed the idea saying that the Centre is not regular in paying out state's share of GST.
According to the source quoted by ANI, the ‘talks are on with the finance ministry regarding fuel prices. Reduction in taxation on fuel is a matter of the Ministry of Finance and the respective states’. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, had said last week, "Today, the consumption of petrol and diesel is higher by 10-15 per cent and 6-10 per cent respectively compared to pre-Covid times. I'll not go into the price issue. We continue to work towards the price stability."
The price of petrol and diesel has gone up so high that even the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) now costs around 33 per cent less than the fuel used for ICE vehicles in India. It remains to be seen whether the spate of hike will be regulated in the future amid growing protests from different corners.
