Government slashes prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 9.5 and Rs 7, respectively
The government announced a cut in excise duty on gasoline of Rs 8 per litre and diesel of Rs 6 per litre on Saturday. This will lower the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and diesel by Rs 7 per litre. This was done as part of the government's attempts to combat inflation.
On May 22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that the drop in national taxes on gasoline and diesel was due to a cut in the and infrastructure cess, which is not shared with states, contradicting opposition claims that the decision would reduce states' portion of central income.
Sitharaman also stated that the government will pay a subsidy of Rs 200 per LPG cylinder to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana's over nine crore participants. A maximum of 12 cylinders each year will be covered by the subsidy.
Petrol now costs Rs 95.91 per litre in Delhi, down from Rs 105.41, while diesel will cost Rs 89.67 per litre, down from Rs 96.67. One litre of petrol will cost Rs 111.35 in Mumbai, while a litre of diesel will cost Rs 97.28. Petrol and diesel cost Rs 102.65 and Rs 94.24 per litre in Chennai, respectively.
Despite losing Rs 13.08 per litre on petrol and Rs 24.09 per litre on diesel due to holding rates, oil-marketing companies (OMCs) are passing on the excise tax reduction to customers. India imports 80 percent of its oil requirements. Retail rates are changed in response to global crude price fluctuations.