Petrol, Diesel Prices Continue To Rise Despite Government's Excise Duty Cut in Budget 2018
Reports, however, stated that new change on excise duty on fuel prices will not change consumer prices but will pave way for the government for a dedicated source of income for its massive plans for the nation.
New Delhi, February 2: Despite the government reducing excise duties by Rs 2 for petrol and diesel, fuel prices in India continued to see an upward trend. On Friday, petrol price in Mumbai was Rs 80.96 per litre against Rs 80.91 per litre on Thursday while in the national capital, petrol was priced at Rs 73.10 per litre against its 73.05 per litre on Thursday. In Kolkata, petrol price on Friday was Rs 75.79 against Rs 75.74 on Thursday while in Chennai petrol price today was Rs 75.82 per litre against Rs 75.77 per litre on Thursday. Similarly, diesel price in Delhi on Thursday was Rs 64.11 per litre, in Kolkata it was Rs 66.78 per litre, in Mumbai the price of diesel per litre was 68.27 while in Chennai it was Rs 67.62 per litre.
It must be noted that prices in international markets have been fluctuating and are being reflected in domestic rates. Reports, however, stated that new change on excise duty on fuel prices will not change consumer prices but will pave way for the government for a dedicated source of income for its massive road building programme. The cut in excise duty in fuel piece was initially assumed as a measure to bring down the rising fuel prices, but it was revealed that the cuts would only offset the brunt of the newly introduced road cess, which would be charged at Rs 8 per litre.
Petrol price in metro-cities (Rs./Litre) on February 2, 2018
| Metro cities | Prices |
| Delhi | Rs 73.10 |
| Kolkata | Rs 75.79 |
| Mumbai | Rs 80.96 |
| Chennai | Rs 75.82 |
Diesel price in metro-cities (Rs./Litre) on February 2, 2018
| Metro cities | Prices |
| Delhi | Rs 64.11 |
| Kolkata | Rs 66.78 |
| Mumbai | Rs 68.27 |
| Chennai | Rs 67.62 |
In his Budget 2018 speech, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday reduced excise duty on branded and unbranded petrol and diesel on Thursday. The excise on unbranded petrol has been reduced to Rs 4.48 per litre from earlier Rs 6.48 per litre while that on branded petrol has been cut to Rs 5.66 per litre from Rs 7.66 per litre. Likewise, for unbranded diesel, the government has reduced the excise duty from Rs 8.33 per litre to Rs 6.33 per litre while for branded diesel it has been reduced to Rs 8.69 per litre.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2018 09:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).