As the global oil prices have skyrocketed in the past few days, the same is being reflected on the fuel prices in India. While the petrol rates touched INR 85.29 per litre in Mumbai and INR 77.47 per litre in Delhi, diesel price reached INR 68.53 per litre in Delhi and INR 72.96 per litre in Mumbai, on Thursday.
Amid all the criticism and pressure from Opposition, the centre is planning a long-term solution rather than a cut in the excise duty on the fuels. Reportedly, it’s planning to get all state governments on board to bring the fuels under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Talking on the issue, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the ad hoc measures are not actually required and the more logical thing to do would be to find long-term, structured solutions. Apparently, the excise duty collected on petroleum products is used for building highways, medical institutes, etc.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari while commenting on the issue pointed out that the hike in fuel prices is “unavoidable” because India is now linked to the global economy. He also clarified that bringing down the retail fuel prices would affect the social welfare scheme of the government.
Basically, since the global prices are high, the Indian government will have to sell the fuels at a cheaper price to bring down the rates but that would still be impossible because the government itself is getting the fuels at a high price. And if it subsidizes the rate, that will take away the money from social welfare schemes, which is clearly not a feasible solution.
However, the centre is making efforts by asking ONGC to share the burden if it can sell the crude oil at the cap of 70 dollars for the entire fiscal year. Reportedly, if its commission is reduced by 18 paise per litre on diesel and 23paise per litre on petrol, it could pare the required prices by one-third with a marginal relief.
