News Analysis India

Tag: petrol

  • Huge rush for refilling vehicles in Kashmir amid rumours of fuel shortage

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: Massive queues of vehicles could be seen at fuel stations in Kashmir on Thursday as people scrambled to fill up the tanks in the wake of rumours that the country is facing shortage of fuel, officials said.

    Hundreds of vehicles were lined up at almost every fuel station, waiting for their turn to be refilled, leading to traffic jams in some parts of the city and elsewhere in the valley as well, the officials said.

    Police and traffic police officials were seen regulating the movement of vehicles at some fuel stations where some motorists turned unruly while waiting for their turn. A police official said there were some minor altercations and the issues were resolved amicably.

    The rush for refilling the cars and vehicles began after rumours started circulating on social media that the country is facing a shortage of fuel.

    A senior marketing official at the Indian Oil Corporation Limited took to Twitter to allay the fears the of people but to no avail.

    “Dear esteemed customers, we reiterate that there is sufficient product availability and supplies to retail outlets are being met in line with demand. Request not to panic at all. We reassure our full commitment to serve you at all times without interruption,” Director Marketing of the IOCL tweeted.

  • Petrol tax slashed, but you aren’t getting full relief

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Consumers were in for a shock on Sunday as the reduction in petrol prices thanks to the excise duty cut was lower than they had thought. Vehicle users in Delhi were expecting Rs 9.50 cut in petrol prices but the reduction was only Rs 8.69. Consumers in other cities also had to shell out more than expected. Reason: the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) raised the base price of petrol overnight, which jacked up the net retail price.

    OMCs update the base price as and when backend crude and refining prices change. According to the price notification of OMCs, the oil companies increased the base price on petrol by 58 paise, making petrol almost Rs 1 dearer. Following the hike in base price, the petrol costs Rs 96.72 per litre in Delhi, instead of Rs 95.91 per litre. It means people in Delhi were paying 81 paise per litre more at petrol pumps. 

    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Saturday announced slashing the Central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. She claimed it would reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of diesel by Rs 7 per litre in Delhi. 

    After confusion prevailed among consumers in Kerala on the real impact of the excise duty cut on fuel prices, the state’s finance minister K N Balagopal clarified that consumers in the state should have got a price reduction of Rs 10.41 following the 8 cut in excise duty and the Rs 2.41 reduction in state tax but the unexpected base price shrank the benefit to Rs 9.40. 

    Base price may be changed on a daily basis or less frequently as the OMCs prefer, said Gaurav Moda, India Energy Leader, EY. The final price comprises base price, central excise, dealers’ commission and state VAT. Some taxes are absolute (like Central excise), some are levied as a percentage of the base price. So, the exact price reduction may vary from state to state.

    There is no such issue in the case of diesel.

    ‘Price benefits could be wiped out in a month’ The benefits of the excise duty cut would be lost in a month if the Centre allows fuel prices to be hiked like this, warned Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal

  • Being between ‘devil and deep sea’: Chidambaram on states’ situation after government’s excise cut on fuel

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday wondered whether the states can afford to give up revenue from VAT on petrol and diesel unless the Centre devolves more funds or gives them more grants, likening their situation to being between “the devil and the deep sea”.

    The former finance minister’s remarks come a day after the government announced Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 reduction on diesel.

    “The notification on reduction of duty on Petrol and Diesel is now available. FM used the words ‘Excise Duty’, but the reduction is in Additional Excise Duty which is not shared with the states. Hence, contrary to what I said yesterday, the entire burden of the reduction falls on the Centre. To that extent, I stand corrected,” Chidambaram said.

    The states are getting very little by way of share of duties on petrol and diesel, he said, noting that their revenue is from VAT on petrol and diesel.

    “I wonder if they can afford to give up that revenue unless the Centre devolved more funds or gave them more grants,” Chidambaram said. The situation is like being between “the devil and the deep sea”, he said in a series of tweets.

    Petrol price on Sunday was slashed by Rs 8.69 a litre and that of diesel by Rs 7.05 per litre following the government’s decision to cut excise duty on auto fuels, giving relief to consumers battered by high fuel prices that had pushed inflation to a record high.

  • Opposition demands discussion on fuel price hike, Speaker says only during Zero Hour

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday declined the opposition’s demand for a discussion on the issue of fuel price hike after suspending the Question Hour, saying he would give them “enough time and opportunities” to raise the matter during the Zero Hour.

    As soon as the House assembled at 11 am after the weekend break, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Trinamool Congress’ Sudip Bandyopadhyay and DMK’s T R Baalu demanded that the House should discuss the fuel price hike, which the government effected for the sixth time in a week.

    The opposition parties, including the Left, insisted that they should be allowed to discuss the issue and came to the well of the House.

    The opposition members shouted slogans against the Modi government demanding withdrawal of the hike in fuel prices.

    However, the Speaker said the first hour, which is reserved as Question Hour, should be allowed to function without interruption and he would allow them to raise the issue during the Zero Hour, which begins at 12 noon.

    “I will give you enough time and opportunities to raise the issue after the Question Hour. Question Hour is very important. So, let the Question Hour continue,” he said.

    As the opposition members pressed for their demand, Birla said he listens to all opposition members and always gives them enough opportunities to raise their issues.

    “I will not allow forced adjournment of the House. The Question Hour is vital to raise people’s issues. Please sit down. I will give you the opportunities during Zero Hour. I give opportunities to you all. I always give opportunities to Adhir ji, Sudip ji and Baalu ji,” he said.

    Following the Speaker’s appeal, the opposition members returned to their seats. Petrol price on Monday was hiked by 30 paise a litre and diesel by 35 paise, taking the total increase in rates in the last one week to Rs 4-4.10 per litre.

    Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 99.41 per litre as against Rs 99.11 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.42 per litre to Rs 90.77, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

    Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.

    This is the sixth increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22.

    In the first four occasions, prices were increased by 80 paise a litre, the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017. On Sunday, petrol price went up by 50 paise a litre and diesel by 55 paise.

    In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 4 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.10.

    Prices had been on a freeze since November 4 last year ahead of the assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab — a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about USD 30 per barrel.

  • Diesel to cost Rs 2 more from Oct 1, North East to see petrol price go up

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Diesel in most parts of the country may cost Rs 2 per litre more from October 1 while petrol in a few places such as North East may see a price hike after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman levied additional excise duty on fuel sold without blending it with ethanol or biodiesel.

    Presently, 10 per cent ethanol, extracted from sugarcane or surplus foodgrain, is blended or mixed in petrol (meaning 10 per cent of ethanol mixed with 90 per cent of petrol) with a view to cutting oil import dependence and provide farmers with an additional source of income.

    Ethanol-blended petrol is supplied in 75-80 per cent of the country as availability of ethanol and logistics hamper supply in remaining areas.

    On the other hand, there is only an experimental blending of biodiesel, extracted from non-edible oilseeds, in diesel – the most used fuel in the country.

    “Blending of fuel is a priority of this Government. To encourage the efforts for blending of fuel, unblended fuel shall attract an additional differential excise duty of Rs 2 per litre from the 1st day of October 2022,” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha.

    While the additional duty will push oil companies to procure more ethanol for mixing in petrol and arrange for logistics for transporting to deficient areas, it is unlikely that the country will be able to build infrastructure to manufacture biodiesel to the scale needed for blending in diesel in next 8 months, industry officials said.

    At a post-Budget press conference, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said the blended fuel has been discussed with the petroleum ministry.

    “We have also collected data on what is not being blended and this is something to push the petroleum companies to ensure that they do the blending. Our desire is not to collect the tax because it would be very minimal. The desire is the blending happens and to an extent, it benefits the country,” he said.

    The budget proposal would mean that areas that do not have a supply of blended fuel will see higher rates than the areas where the blended fuel is sold.

    Presently, parts of North East and Jammu & Kashmir and some far-flung areas in the South as well as in Rajasthan do not have a supply of ethanol-blended petrol.

    Industry officials said it was possible to raise the supply of ethanol-blended petrol in Rajasthan and unserviced parts of the South but the supply to North East will be constrained Diesel on the other hand is largely sold without any blending in the country.

    ALSO READ: Karnataka to have ethanol policy: Minister Munenakoppa

    “In order to promote the blending of Motor Spirit (commonly known as Petrol) with ethanol/methanol and blending of High-Speed Diesel with biodiesel, an additional basic excise duty of Rs 2 per litre on petrol and diesel, intended to be sold to retail consumers without blending, would be levied with effect from the 1st day of October 2022,” the memorandum explaining the provisions of the Finance Bill said.

    Last year, the government brought forward the target to achieve 20 per cent ethanol-blending with petrol to 2025, five years ahead of its previous target, to help reduce its dependence on costly oil imports.

    10 per cent ethanol blending is to be achieved in 2022. India is the world’s third-biggest oil importer, relying on foreign suppliers to meet more than 85 per cent of its oil demand.

    Officials said currently the average ethanol blending is 8.5 per cent. A 10 per cent blend would require 4 billion litres of ethanol by 2021-2022 sugar year (November 2021 to October 2022).

    To achieve 20 per cent blending by 2025, and to meet the requirement of the chemical and other sectors, about 12 billion litres of alcohol/ethanol would be required. The sugar industry will divert 6 million tonne of surplus sugar to produce 7 billion litres of the ethanol needed while the other 5 billion litres of ethanol will be produced from excess grain.

    Last year, the government had also allowed the mixing of ethanol extracted from surplus grains. Elsewhere in the Budget, a provision of Rs 4,000 crore has been made for subsidy on cooking gas.

    This may be inadequate in case international prices of crude oil continue to rise and there is resistance from consumers to further price hikes.

  • CM Hemant Soren launches “Petrol Subsidy Scheme” for BPL families

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the occasion of Republic Day, launched the much talked about petrol subsidy scheme from Dumka, under which a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre of petrol will be credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

    Soren, on the second anniversary of his government, had announced that a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre of petrol for a maximum of up to 10 litres in a month will be given to the ration card holders. To avail the subsidy, one will have to register himself with the CM-SUPPORTS App, which has already been launched.

    According to Soren, nearly 1.4 lakh people have registered themselves for the scheme and the application of around 73,000 people has already been admitted.

    “I am happy to announce that from today onwards, a subsidy of Rs 250, with the rate of Rs 25 per litre for 10 litres of petrol, is being sent to the bank accounts of the poor and needy through CM-SUPPORT App. So far, nearly 1.4 lakh people have registered themselves under the scheme, and application of around 73000 people has already been admitted,” said the Chief Minister. 

    The subsidy will be credited to the account of 40,000 beneficiaries immediately after is scheme is launched, he added.

    To mark the occasion, Soren symbolically handed over a cheque of Rs 250 to five beneficiaries. With the launch of this scheme, the subsidy amount of Rs 250 will be deposited in the account of 58 thousand beneficiaries across the state today itself.

    Speaking on the occasion, Soren said the government has made efforts to provide employment and ensure the participation of common people in administration and development. More than 80 lakh workers of the unorganised sector have registered themselves on the government’s e-shram portal in the state.

    Stressing on the need to generate employment, he said that action has been taken to speed up the process of appointment to vacant posts in the state government which were pending for years. To provide maximum opportunities to the youth from Jharkhand in government jobs, it has been made mandatory to pass Classes 10 and 12 from a recognised institution in the state, besides knowing local language and customs, he said.

    Talking about education, the CM said that 80 model schools, 325 block-level leader schools and 4091 village-level model schools are being developed in the state. Around 72 crore has been approved for the construction of 20 model schools in Santhal Parganas. To ensure that education in COVID is not affected, the government has arranged for online education through the DG program.

  • ‘Is it a government or greedy moneylender from old Hindi films’: Rahul’s dig at taxes on fuel

    His attack came a day after the Lok Sabha was informed that the Union government #39;s tax collections on petrol and diesel jumped by 88 per cent to Rs 3.35 lakh crore in the last fiscal.

  • Petrol price touches new high, breaches Rs 107 per litre mark in Mumbai

    By ANI
    New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): Petrol prices in Mumbai rose to Rs 107.54 per litre on Thursday, touching another record high figure after fuel rates were hiked again.

    The price of diesel in Mumbai was Rs 97.45 per litre.

    Petrol prices were hiked by up to 35 paise whereas diesel prices were increased by 15 paise.

    In Delhi, the retail price of both petrol and diesel stood at Rs 101.54 per litre and Rs 89.87 per litre respectively.

    As for Bhopal, petrol prices soared to Rs 109.89 per litre and diesel costs Rs 98.67 per litre.

    West Bengal’s Kolkata reported Rs 101.74 per litre for petrol and Rs 93.02 per litre for diesel.

    Rates have been increased across the country and differ from state to state depending on the incidence of value-added tax.

    Meanwhile, Congress has decided to launch a 10-day nationwide agitation against inflation from July 7.

    Several political parties have protested against the increasing fuel prices across the country. Political leaders including BSP chief Mayawati, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee have raised concerns over the rising fuel prices and demanded its reduction. 

  • PM should hold ‘petrol ki baat’ instead of ‘Mann ki baat’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “making a mess of the country’s economy” and urged him to hold ‘petrol and vaccine ki baat’ instead of ‘Mann ki baat’.

    Referring to the proposed Union Cabinet reshuffle, the chief minister, during a press meet here, said the removal of Babul Supriyo from the council of ministers shows that “they (BJP government) have also lost it even before the arrival of their end” in 2024.

    ALSO READ| ​Bengal Budget 2021: State govt grants road tax waiver, stamp duty rebate

    Noting that none of the letters she wrote to the PM evoked any response, Banerjee said that despite appeals for Jagdeep Dhankhar’s removal as governor, nothing was done about it. “The entire economy is in doldrums. Fuel prices are increasing everyday and the Union government is sitting idle. Our prime minister is only busy with his Mann ki Baat. He should instead hold petrol ki baat, diesel ki baat and vaccine ki baat,” she insisted.

    Asked about the possibility of BJP MP John Barla’s induction in the Union ministry, weeks after he demanded a separate union territory for North Bengal, Banerjee said it will reflect the “divisive mindset” of the saffron party. “I won’t comment on ministry reshuffle. Will reshuffle end the woes of the people?” she added.

  • Petrol price up by 29 paise per litre; diesel by 26 paise a litre

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Diesel price on Monday went past the Rs 98-a-litre mark in a few places of Rajasthan as a relentless increase in fuel prices took rates to record-high levels.

    Petrol price was increased by 29 paise per litre and diesel by 26 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The increase – 16th this month – pushed petrol and diesel prices to a fresh all-time high across the country.

    Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan saw petrol price climb to Rs 105.24 a litre and diesel to Rs 98.08 per litre.

    Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.

    Rajasthan levies the highest value-added tax (VAT) on petrol in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. In Delhi, petrol comes for Rs 94.23 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 85.15 a litre.

    The price of petrol, which had already crossed the Rs 100-mark in several cities in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, breached the psychological barrier in Mumbai on Saturday.

    Petrol now costs Rs 100.47 a litre in Mumbai and diesel comes for Rs 92.45 per litre. The increase in Monday is the 16th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

    In 16 increases, petrol price has risen by Rs 3.83 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.42. Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.