Centre reduces fuel prices by Rs 2.5, tells states ‘it is your turn’

Petrol and diesel will be five rupees cheaper per litre in various BJP-ruled states as they cut an additional Rs 2.5 on the fuels as Union finance minister Arun Jaitley Thursday announced a Rs 2.5 cut in per litre price on the fuels and asked states to make a matching reduction.

“Maharashtra Government also decided to give additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on Petrol to give total benefit of ₹5/litre in the State of Maharashtra,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a tweet.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, in a tweet, also announced that the state has also decided to reduce Rs.2.5 on both fuels to make them cheaper by Rs 5 while his Jharkhand counterpart Raghubar Das told ANI that the state government has decided to give an additional relief of Rs 2.5 per litre on diesel in the state.

Chhattisgarh and Tripura also matched the Centre’s cut to make both fuels cheaper by Rs 5.

Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who holds the finance portfolio, however told ANI that the state will take a decision after getting official intimation.

Announcing the cut in Delhi, finance minister Jaitley said the Centre would reduce the excise duty by Rs 1.5 per litre while oil marketing companies would absorb the rest Re 1 per litre.

“This is perfectly good economics... we want consumers to spend money on other items also... to do it without impacting the fiscal deficit is surely good economics,” Jaitley announced after an inter-ministerial discussions with petroleum ministry.

The cut, which comes ahead of assembly elections in five states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram, will cost the exchequer Rs 10,500 for the remaining half of this financial year.

Jaitley said it will increase the buying power of consumers.

On Thursday, petrol and diesel prices in Delhi were Rs 84 per litre (increase by Rs 0.15) & Rs 75.45 per litre (increase by Rs 0.20) while in Mumbai, they were Rs 91.34 litre (increase by Rs 0.14) & Rs 80.10 (increase by Rs 0.21), respectively.

First Published: Oct 04, 2018 15:20 IST