New Delhi [India], May 30 : Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Puri on Friday highlighted how is India able to keep prices for oil in control through calibrated policy measures, including excise duty cuts and collaboration with state governments on VAT reductions.
Puri mentioned that the government had reduced the cess on petrol and diesel in November 2021 and May 2022, leading to price reductions of Rs 13 and Rs 16 per liter, respectively. He attributed this to the combined efforts of the central and state governments in reducing taxes.
"The excise duty shares are imposed by govt...twice we reduced the Cess in November 2021 and May 2022, state govt also reduced their VAT, and that's why we were able to reduce the price of petrol and diesel, respectively, by Rs 13 and Rs 16 a liter," the minister said after the CII Annual Business Summit 2025.
The minister outlined the factors that influence fuel prices, including global prices, insurance costs, and refining margins. He suggested that if global prices remain stable, further price reductions could be expected.
He further added, "If prices are determined by global prices, to that you add cost of insurance...refining margin...if prices remain like this, going forward, these are the things that you can legitimately expect."
While speaking at the CII summit, the minister emphasized on the availability of crude from the western Hemisphere countries such as such as Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and Canada. He noted that despite OPEC+ production cuts, global supply is rebounding with incremental output restorations.
Apart from the he also commented about the India's strategic tie up. He said, "what we've done is we've diversified from 27 countries from which we imported to about 40 now. We bought consignments from Argentina also."
He also believes that, during tough times India has been able to navigate reasonable well and he further mentions that, "and I have total confidence in going forward with more energy being available, we will be able to navigate it further also."
Referring to discounted Russian oil imports, Puri said that, Prime Minister's primary responsibility is to ensure affordable energy for Indian consumers. If oil is available at a lower cost, we will buy it, regardless of origin.
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