New Delhi: Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri on Friday clarified that the government in India has decided to bear the burden of rising global crude oil prices itself instead of passing it on to consumers.
Puri said that the government is bearing the loss of Rs 24 per litre on petrol and Rs 30 per litre on diesel due to the increase in global crude oil prices. The minister said that unlike other economies, where domestic oil prices have been increased after global costs touched the sky due to the West Asian crisis, there has been no such increase in India.
He said on X, "International crude oil prices have skyrocketed from around $70/barrel to around $122/barrel in the last 1 month. As a result, petrol and diesel prices have increased for consumers all over the world. Prices have increased by around 30-50 percent in South-East Asian countries, 30 percent in North American countries, 20 percent in Europe and 50 percent in African countries."
Puri said the Modi government had two options - either increase prices drastically for citizens like all other countries or bear the burden on its finances so that Indian citizens can be safe from international instability.
He said, "Prime Minister Modi, in keeping with his government's commitment of the last 4 years, has once again decided to take a hit on its finances to protect Indian citizens since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out."
Puri said the government has taken a big hit to its tax revenue to ensure that the huge losses of oil companies are mitigated. "At the same time, export tax has been imposed because the international prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed and any refinery exporting abroad will have to pay export tax. My thanks to PM Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for this very timely, bold and far-sighted decision," Puri said.