New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared a sharp cut in central excise duty on fuel prices in view of surging inflation in the country. Petrol price will be cheaper by ₹ 9.5, while diesel will come down by ₹ 7.
The central excise duty on petrol has been reduced by ₹ 8 per litre and that on diesel has been cut by ₹ 6 per litre, the finance minister said. According to the government, it will lose ₹ 1 lakh crore by announcing the cut on central excise duties.
The states have been urged by the minister to implement a similar cut and pass on the benefit to the common man. “I wish to exhort all state governments, especially the states where reduction wasn’t done during the last round (November 2021), to also implement a similar cut and give relief to the common man,” Sitharaman appealed.
1/12 Our government, since when @PMOIndia @narendramodi took office, is
devoted to the welfare of the poor.We’ve taken a number of steps to help the poor and middle class. As a result, the average inflation during our tenure has remained lower than during previous governments.— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) May 21, 2022
Petrol will cost ₹ 95.91 a litre in Delhi from Sunday as against ₹ 105.41 a litre at present. Diesel will be ₹ 89.67 a litre which is ₹ 96.67 per litre now.
Also, the government will provide a subsidy of ₹ 200 per cylinder to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders yearly. This ai aimed at helping cut some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates mounting to record levels.
“This will help our mothers and sisters,” Sitharaman tweeted. Sitharaman said the gas cylinder subsidy will have a “revenue implication of around ₹ 6,100 crore.”
