Petrol, diesel prices rise again on Wednesday; 14th hike in past 16 days

New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices were revised upwards again on Wednesday – the 14th hike in the past 16 days.

The fuel prices have gone up by another 80 paise a litre on Wednesday, and have become dearer by Rs 10 a litre in 16 days, reported ANI. Petrol in the national capital crossed the Rs 105 mark today, whereas, in Mumbai, it has surpassed Rs 120, the report adds.

With the latest hike in prices, petrol now costs Rs 105.41 per litre in Delhi, whereas diesel is priced at Rs 96.67 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol costs Rs 120.51 per litre after an increase of 84 paise and diesel is selling at Rs 104.77 a litre, increased by 85 paise.

Notably, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday defended the Central government over the issue of fuel price hike, comparing it with that of other countries, saying that India has merely seen a change of “only 5 per cent”. “Fuel prices hiked in India are 1/10th of the change of prices in other countries. Comparing gasoline (petrol) prices between April 2021 and March 2022, the prices in the United States of America (USA) have increased by 51 per cent, Canada by 52 per cent, Germany by 55 per cent, the United Kingdom (UK) by 55 per cent, France by 50 per cent, Spain 58 per cent but in India only 5 per cent,” said Puri in Lok Sabha.

However, the Opposition has been stepping up pressure on the government with demand for the rollback of the fuel price hike. There had been a pause in the revision of fuel prices since November 4 last year, which ended on March 22, following the crude oil prices going upwards in the wake of the Russian military operations in Ukraine.

Prices are set to be raised further given the sharp jump in crude oil prices in the international markets. It will have a cascading impact on the prices of other items and lead to inflationary pressure and hurt growth while also impacting the prices of other items. Congress’ nationwide protest campaign ‘Mehngai Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ against fuel price hike will be culminating tomorrow under which it is organising rallies and marches across the country. The campaign began on March 31.

Notably, on November 3 last year, the Centre had cut excise duty by Rs 5 per litre on petrol and Rs 10 per litre on diesel to bring down the retail prices across the country. Following this, several state governments had reduced Value-Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to provide relief to people.

(With inputs from ANI)