The price of diesel dropped for second consecutive day on Thursday. In Delhi, the price of diesel came down to ₹89.47 after a 20 paise cut. Similarly, the fuel stood at ₹97.04 a litre in Mumbai.
In Chennai, the new price of the diesel is ₹94.02 litre, while in Kolkata, it is retailing at ₹92.57 per litre.
Petrol price, however, have remained unchanged. It costs ₹101.84 per litre in Delhi, ₹107.83/litre in Mumbai, ₹99.47/litre in Chennai and ₹102.08 in Kolkata. The price of petrol has remained unchanged since July 17.
Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday said that the government is “sensitive” towards the prices of the petroleum products and is taking all possible steps to address the issue.
He also blamed the Congress for the current trend of hike in petrol and diesel prices.
“We are sensitive towards it and are taking possible steps like doing blending of 10 per cent which we are going to raise to 20 per cent. So, we are taking many steps,” the minister said.
“The Centre imposes excise tax on petrol and diesel, while states impose VAT on it. We use this excise money to fund schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Yojna under which 80 crore people received free foodgrains, PM Awas Yojna, Ujjwala scheme,” Puri added.
He said that the Congress government, before 2014, issued oil bonds of ₹1.34 lakh crore to control prices of petrol and passed on their problem to BJP government. “They emptied the chest. We have to pay ₹20,000 crore this year for the oil bonds that have a maturity period of 15 years.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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