Following the trend that started in mid-December, diesel prices shot up to Rs 60.81 per litre on Thursday, 11 January in New Delhi. The cost of diesel in Chennai, peaked at Rs 64.09 per litre, as per the data on the Indian Oil website.
On 10 January, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told The Times of India that the onus of providing relief to consumers lies with state governments.
It’s not just the Centre that taxes fuels. States also benefit from tax on petrol and diesel. The Centre has reduced excise by Rs 2 a litre. States should show their concern by reducing VAT (value added tax).Dharmendra Pradhan, Oil Minister
International crude oil also continued its upward march for another session and traded 0.27 percent higher at Rs 4,047 per barrel on Thursday. Crude oil prices are at their highest since 2014, subsequently increasing fuel prices in India.
The government had, on 3 October 2017, cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre to moderate the relentless rise in fuel prices witnessed in 2017, but the prices still continue to rise.
Indians have been paying more for petrol and diesel since August 2017 as global oil prices began surging as a production cut deal between OPEC and other major producers like Russia takes root on 2018 extension.
(With inputs from PTI)
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