In a major relief for consumer across the country, Centre is planning to make a heavy price cut in petrol and diesel rates. This move is expected to come ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for April and May next year.
There is currently a decline in the crude oil price in the international market, which will factor in while slashing the fuel prices in India. The Union Finance Ministry will be making the price cut soon, a News18 report said.
It is likely that the prices may be slashed by ₹10 in both petrol and diesel. This move comes nearly two years after the Centre had decided to slash the prices of petrol and diesel by cutting the Central Excise Policy by ₹8 and ₹6 respectively.
The petrol and diesel prices in Delhi at present are ₹96.71 and ₹89.62 respectively, while the fuel prices are way above ₹100 in several major cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Petrol and diesel prices across India had crossed the ₹110 mark in several major metro cities, majorly due to the fluctuations in the market caused by the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, leading to a rise in crude oil prices.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri earlier credited the Modi government for the drop in oil prices in India. He pointed out that while petrol prices were up by 70-80 percent in North American countries, India had a 5 percent drop in rates.
Crude oil prices are currently trading at a cost of $70 to $80 per barrel in international markets, which is why a proposal has been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office in favour of cutting fuel prices, said the News18 report.
Due to the drop in crude oil prices internationally, the three big government run oil companies in India – Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) – took home major profits.
