Govt fails to control fuel price hike, continues for 14 times in 16 days

A depreciating rupee and expensive crude oil further pushed domestic fuel prices to new record highs on Wednesday. 

Fuel  prices were raised by 80 paise per litre, the 14th price increase in 16 days. Petrol and diesel prices have risen by 10 cents per litre in the last 16 days, following a four-and-a-half-month hiatus in rate revision that ended on March 22.

Rates vary by state depending on the level of local taxation, with Mumbai having the highest fuel prices among metro cities.

According to the most recent notification from state-owned fuel retailers, petrol costs 105.41 rupees per litre in the nation’s capital, while diesel costs 96.67 rupees per litre. Petrol and diesel prices per litre in Mumbai were listed at 120.51 per litre, up 84 paise, and 104.77 per litre, up 85 paise.

Meanwhile, Petrol prices in Guwahati increased by 89 paise per litre, while diesel prices increased by 84 paise per litre, resulting in a litre of petrol costing Rs 105.66 and a litre of diesel costing Rs 91.40.

Despite the fact that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has impacted crude oil prices around the world, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the fuel price increase in India is only 5 percent between April 2021 and March 2022. Fuel prices have risen by more than 50 percent in some other developed and developing countries as a result of the war, he added.