Mint: Govt may slash fuel rates on Thu
The government may cut petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices on Thursday, besides freeing fuel pricing from administrative control, a petroleum ministry official said today.
The Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Thursday, may reduce petrol price by Rs5 a litre, diesel by Rs3 per litre and domestic LPG by Rs25 per cylinder, giving relief to the common man and further easing inflationary pressures, he said.
State-run oil companies are currently making Rs9.70 a litre profit on sale of petrol, Rs3.70 a litre on diesel, but are loosing Rs 31.70 per LPG cylinder and Rs 11.69 on every litre of kerosene.
“There is also a proposal for freeing the retail fuel prices from administrative control after a mechanism to compensate for the losses on LPG and kerosene is devised,” he said.
The government will mop up additional revenues by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel by a minimum of Rs1 per litre.
I think deflation will come even earlier than March.
