Petrol hits ~100/L mark; PM blames previous govts
Petrol crosses ~100/L in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar
On a day when petrol crossed the ~100 mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the middle-class would not have been burdened if the previous governments had focussed on reducing India's energy import dependence. Without referring to the increase in retail fuel prices, he said India imported over 85 per cent of its oil needs in FY20 and 53 per cent of its gas requirement. "Can a diverse and talented nation like ours be so energy import dependent?" he asked, addressing an online event to inaugurate oil and gas projects in Tamil Nadu.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members to stop regulating crude oil production and ease prices. Pradhan made these comments at the IEA-IEFOPEC Symposium on Energy Outlooks.
Speaking at the symposium, Pradhan reiterated his stand that a spurt in crude oil prices is going to adversely impact consuming nations and a global economic recovery.
“There is an urgent need to allow consumption-led recovery that has just taken roots in several emerging economies, including India. The rising oil prices during the last few weeks are hurting the fragile global economic recovery leading to significant demand contraction. The key producing countries have not only revised the production cuts over and above the previously announced levels, but also made additional voluntary cuts,” Pradhan said.
Pradhan said while India had supported the joint decision by major oilproducing countries to cut oil production last April amid a sharp fall in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in the current scenario, oil-producing countries have to reconsider increasing production cuts.
“In the collective interests of both producing and consuming countries, prices should be reasonable and responsible. The price-sensitive Indian consumers are getting adversely affected by rising petroleum product prices. It also affects demand growth, which could potentially impact the delicate aspirational economic growth trajectory not just in India but in other developing countries as well,” Pradhan added.
His comments come at a time when Indian consumers are reeling under the burden of high taxation on auto fuels and a sudden increase in prices. These hikes are partly because of a recovery in global crude oil prices. The other reason for the increase is the hike in international prices of petrol and diesel, which serve as a benchmark for domestic prices.
Petrol and diesel prices are now at record highs with successive hikes in February. According to reports, the price of petrol crossed the ~100 per litre mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday. This is the first time that regular petrol has been sold at such high prices in the country.
In Delhi, petrol sold at ~89.54 a litre, while diesel retailed at ~79.95 a litre. These prices vary across the country on the basis of market conditions and supply chain costs. The varying state levies are also a reason for the difference in prices.