Under pressure, the central government on Friday cut excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6 per litre, which will lead to a welcome drop in fuel prices. The cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 per litre in petrol prices and Rs 7 per litre in diesel, after taking into account its impact on other levies. Tweeting “people first for us”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the announcements will bring relief to citizens and “further ease of living”.
“It is always people first for us! Today’s decisions, especially the one relating to a significant drop in petrol and diesel prices will positively impact various sectors, provide relief to our citizens and further ‘Ease of Living.’” PM Modi said on Twitter.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement through a series of tweets, where she mentioned that the Narendra Modi-led government was committed to the welfare of the poor since it assumed office. “We are reducing the central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of diesel by Rs 7 per litre,” she said, adding that this will have a revenue implication of close to Rs 1 lakh crore per year for the central government.
Consumers have been battered by high fuel prices that have pushed inflation to a multi-year high. From Sunday, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 95.91 a litre as against Rs 105.41 per litre currently. Diesel, meanwhile, will cost Rs 89.67 a litre as opposed to Rs 96.67 a litre. Increase in fuel prices were necessitated due to surge in international oil prices.
SUBSIDY FOR UJJWALA BENEFICIARIES
Also, under the Ujjwala Yojana scheme, the Centre will give a subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder for 12 cylinders a year. This is being done to ease some of the burden arising from record rise in rates of cooking gas. A 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,003 in the national capital. Beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the poor women who got free connections, will get Rs 200 subsidy directly in their bank accounts and the effective price for them would be Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder.
