India will press for responsible crude pricing at OPEC meet: Pradhan

India will pitch for ‘responsible’ crude pricing at the upcoming conference organised by oil producers’ cartel OPEC, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

On the rising oil prices in the country, the minister assured that the government would leave no stone unturned to keep these products within the reach of the common man.

“There will be an OPEC conference in Vienna on June 22...Whenever we have met OPEC members, we have told them that crude oil prices should be controlled, reasonable, responsible and should meet demand. We will raise this issue there,” the oil minister told reporters at a CII conference in New Delhi.

Retail prices of petrol and diesel are ruling at around Rs 75 a litre and Rs 68 a litre amid the global surge in crude prices.

“There was a time when oil producing countries were playing a lead role. We do not want crude at $25 per barrel. But oil price should not be out of reach. “Why should the price go beyond $55 to 60 per barrel? India is consistent on that. Today’s oil prices are pinching us and creating problem for us. We will raise this issue in the OPEC conference,” he said.

He said if the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) do not price the crude responsibly, then the government would push hard for electric vehicles, renewables and bio fuels.

“We will not keep the prices of petroleum out of the poor people’s reach. We will do whatever is required for that,” he said.