In a major relief to citizens across the country, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced a cut of Rs 1.50 in excise duty for both petrol and diesel. Jaitley said the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) will also absorb Re 1 on the fuels, leading a total price cut of Rs 2.50 on both petrol and diesel. Consumers have been struggling with persistent surge in fuel prices since mid-August.
Jaitley, addressing a press conference in the national capital, dwelled on several issues, including the rising fuel prices, especially after a last-minute meeting with Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday. Jaitley met Pradhan to discuss options to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on the economy, sources said.
In what would be a great relief for people in some BJP-ruled states, several state governments, inlcuidng Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Chhattishgarh have also decided to reduce Rs 2.50 on both petrol and diesel, reciprocating positively to FM’s announcement.
The revised price will come into affect from midnight tonight.
Read | Petrol, diesel prices to be cheaper by Rs 5 in six BJP-ruled states; rates fall to Rs 78.21, Rs 70.44 in UP
Here are the LIVE updates on Arun Jaitley's press conference:
# 20:00 pm: Jharkhand govt has decided to give an additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on both petrol and diesel in the state.
# 19:55 pm: Uttarakhand government decided to reduce petrol and diesel prices commensurate with the Centre.
# 19:35 pm: Petrol and Diesel prices in Jammu and Kashmir have been slashed by Rs 5 per litre as the State Gov announced cut of Rs 2.50 in the fuel prices.
# 18:37 pm: In order to ease burden on common people and in tandem with announcement of FM Arun Jaitley to cut prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50, Govt of Assam has decided to reduce tax on petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2.50 thereby making them cheaper by Rs 5 in Assam, tweets CM Sarbananda Sonowal.
# 18:32 pm: Haryana government has also decided to give an additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on petrol and diesel to give total benefit of ₹5/litre in the state: Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu.
# 18:27 pm: Himachal Pradesh government has also decided to give an additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on petrol and diesel to give total benefit of ₹5/litre in the state: Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur.
# 18:20 pm: The latest slash in petrol and diesel prices bring down the rates to Rs Rs 78.21, Rs 70.44 respectively in Uttar Pradesh.
# 18:17 pm: Madhya Pradesh government has also decided to give an additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on petrol and diesel to give total benefit of ₹5/litre in the state, says CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
# 18:00 pm: Already we had cut the price by Rs 2 last month: Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy on being asked if the state government will reduce the price of petrol and diesel.
# 17:30 pm: Central Govt reduced prices of petrol and diesel by Rs. 2.50 per litre today that will give a great relief to common man. UP Govt has also decided to give additional relief of Rs. 2.50 per litre on the prices of petrol and diesel: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
# 17:00 pm: Jharkhand Government has decided to give an additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on diesel in the state: Raghubar Das, Jharkhand Chief Minister.
# 16:56 pm: Tripura Government has also decided to give additional relief of ₹2.5/litre on Petrol and Diesel to give total benefit of ₹5/litre in the state of Tripura.
# 16:53 pm: Government of Chhattisgarh has also decided to reduce Rs 2.50 on both petrol and diesel in the state. Thus petrol and diesel will be Rs 5 cheaper in Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh.
# 16:44 pm: Reducing prices of diesel is also under consideration of the state govt and soon a decision can be taken on diesel too: Maharashtra government to ANI.
# 16:26 pm: Central government reduces Rs 2.50 on Petrol and Diesel, I request Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to reduce Rs 2.50 as other states did: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Bhubaneswar.
# 16:19 pm: Petrol will be cheaper by Rs 5 in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
# 16:08 pm: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have reduced VAT by Rs 2.50 on petrol and diesel, according to reports.
# 16:07 pm: Finance Minister has announced Rs 2.5 cuts in petrol and diesel prices, reciprocating positively to FM’s announcement, Govt Of Gujarat has also decided to reduce Rs 2.50 on both petrol and diesel. Thus petrol and diesel will be Rs. 5 cheaper in State of Gujarat, tweets Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.
# 16:04 pm: 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, tweets Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis.
# 15:30 pm: Several macroeconomic data is indicating stable measures. The first quarterly results have shown an 8.2% growth. Inflation is still moderate less than 4%: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
# 15:27 pm: Rs 10,500 Crore will be the impact of excise duty cut this year, the finance minister said.
# 15:23 pm: We are writing to the state governments that as the central government is cutting Rs 2.50 on both petrol and diesel, they do the same, says Jaitlley.
# 15:22 pm: Excise duty to be reduced by Rs.1.50 and OMCs will absorb 1 rupee. So, a total of Rs.2.50 will be reduced on both diesel and petrol: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
# 15:20 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley briefs the media in Delhi.
Diesel, which is being sold at record high prices across the country, is the most used fuel in the farm sector. Tractors tilling the soil to irrigation pump sets - all use diesel, and a spike in its prices is bound to add to the cost of farming.
A combination of a dip in rupee value against the US dollar and a rise in crude oil prices has led to a spike in fuel prices since mid-August.
The deadly cocktail of high oil prices and the depreciating rupee has made imports costlier and led to a surge in fuel prices. India is 81 per cent import dependent to meet its oil needs.
/newsnation-english/media/agency_attachments/2024-07-23t155806234z-logo-webp.webp){kind=logo}
Follow Us/newsnation-english/media/post_attachments/images/2018/10/04/ArunJaitley-553389465.JPG)