The retail selling price of petrol rose by 33.85 per cent in Delhi, while diesel prices grew 61.51 per cent since the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Data presented by Oil Minister H S Puri in response to a starred query in Rajya Sabha said the rise in RSP of both the auto fuels occurred during May 2014 to December 2022 in Delhi.

In comparison, the retail price of petrol in the national capital rose by 66.08 per cent, while diesel prices were up 82.11 per cent between 2006 to 2014, effectively during the tenure of the Congress-led government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The UPA-led coalition was in power at the Centre during 2004 to 2014.

The data also show that between 1998-2006, the prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi rose by 90.50 per cent and 197.27 per cent, respectively. During this period, the coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was also in power (during 1999-2004).

Also read
most of the developed countries have been reeling under high petrol and diesel prices.

State-run oil marketing companies report loss of ₹18,622-cr in 9 months of FY23

Furthermore, during the 1990-1998 period, the retail prices of petrol and diesel grew by 132.11 per cent and 151.23 per cent, respectively.

The three state-run oil marketing companies, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have cumulatively posted a loss of ₹18,622 crore during April-December of FY23.

The OMCs have been booking losses on sale of petrol and diesel to the public due to unprecedented volatility in international crude oil prices following the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 and the freeze on the retail prices of both the auto fuels since April 6, 2022.

Reducing prices of auto fuels

Puri said that the centre has cut the Central Excise duty by a total of ₹13 per litre and ₹16 a litre on petrol and diesel, respectively in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022.

“The excise duty reduction was fully passed on to consumers. The measure was aimed to give a further fillip to the economy and to boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes. Subsequently, many States/UTs have also reduced VAT rates on petrol and diesel,” the minister added.

LPG consumption

India imports more than 60 per cent of its domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption. The government continues to modulate the effective price of domestic LPG.

While the Saudi Contract Prices (CP), on which domestic LPG prices are based, rose by 235 per cent from $236 per tonne in April 2020 to $790 in February 2023.

While the retail selling price of domestic LPG has increased only by 89.7 per cent from ₹581.5 in May 2020 to ₹1,103 in March 2023 and effective cost for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries rose only by 55.2 per cent during the same period.

Related Topics