Union Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has attributed the skyrocketing prices of fuels, to increased demand and assured that they will come down, as the winter season ends.
On February 26, the minister said that the increase in petroleum price in international market has affected consumers too. "Prices will come down a little as winter goes away. It's an international matter, price is high due to increase in demand, it happens in winter. The price will come down", he added, as quoted by ANI.
Petrol and diesel prices have been surging in the past few weeks, in some cities crossing the Rs 100/litre mark as well. As of February 26, the price of petrol is Rs 90.93/litre and diesel is Rs 81.31 per litre, in Delhi. In Mumbai, petrol was selling at Rs 97.34/litre and diesel at Rs 88.44 per litre.
The spike in prices comes in the backdrop of reduced global supply. This hike obviously has affected consumers heavily, and hence India has urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Opec plus to ease production cuts.
Another solution to the surging prices would be to get petroleum products under the purview of GST. The same was also requested by Minister Pradhan saying, that if petroleum products are brought under GST purview, it will be a big relief for the common man. It will also be very helpful for the growth of the oil and gas sector.
The Finance Minister has, however, given no solid hope on when the prices of petrol and diesel can be reduced. Speaking at an event in Ahmedabad, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that she won't be able to tell 'when'. It's a moral dilemma or 'dharam sankat', according to her.
India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said the Centre and state governments need to work on a coordinated action to bring down the taxes on petrol and diesel prices.
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