INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Petrol and diesel prices are at Rs
76.87 per litre and Rs 68.08 per litre in Delhi
With petrol and diesel prices rising to all-time highs in some cities, the government is likely to announce steps to curb the upmove
Facing a "crisis situation" created by rising fuel prices, the government is likely to come out with "some steps" this week to deal with
record high petrol and diesel rates, news agency Press Trust of India reported on Tuesday citing a senior official
The comments come on a day petrol and diesel prices scaled new all-time highs in Delhi and Mumbai, and petrol price reached a record high of
Rs 79.79 per litre in Chennai
Also, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on Monday said the government was looking at ways to keep the rising fuel prices in check.The
government may not rely only on cutting excise duty, which makes up for a fourth of the retail selling price, the official said but did not
elaborate, according to Press Trust of India."Rising fuel price is a crisis situation for government and it has to be handled with
Finance ministry is consulting the petroleum ministry on rising crude prices," the agency cited the official as said."Some steps to deal
with rising oil prices are likely to come this week," he added.Currently, petrol prices are at Rs
76.87 per litre in Delhi, Rs
79.53 per litre in Kolkata, Rs
84.7 per litre in Mumbai and Rs
79.79 per litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil
72.48 per litre and Rs 71.87 per litre respectively
At Rs 79.53 per litre, the price in Kolkata is at a near-five year high.Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local
The prices in Delhi are the lowest among all metros and most state capitals.Industry bodies Ficci and Assocham had on Monday called for the
government to urgently reduce fuel excise duties, according to a report by news agency IANS
They also urged the government to bring automobile fuels under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST)."At a time when the Indian
economy is on a recovery path, rising oil prices are again posing a high risk to India's economic growth trajectory," Ficci had said.The
government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then
cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
