India hikes fuel prices for the third time this month
India’s state-owned oil marketing companies have raised petrol and diesel prices for the third time this month as crude prices in the international market surged due to the Iran war. Reuters reported this. Traders said the new fuel prices took effect from Saturday (May 23).
According to the new decision, petrol prices in the capital New Delhi have increased by 87 paise to Rs 99.51 per liter. On the other hand, the new price of diesel has increased by 91 paise to Rs 92.49 per liter. India is the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer. However, even after the US-Israeli conflict over Iran began, India was one of the last major economies to raise fuel prices at the retail level.
The three price hikes this month have raised fuel prices in India by a total of about Rs 5. The price hike announced on May 15 was India’s first fuel price adjustment in four years. State-owned oil companies have been gradually increasing retail prices rather than increasing them all at once. In April 2022, the companies had similarly increased oil prices soon after the assembly elections in several key states, including Uttar Pradesh, were over.
India’s main opposition parties have alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not allowed oil prices to rise so far to win over voters in the recently concluded state assembly elections and gain political advantage, and that the pockets of the common man are being ripped off as soon as the elections are over.
Meanwhile, the chairman of ‘Bharat Petroleum’ has said that even with the current price hike, they are facing a revenue shortfall or loss of Rs 25 to 30 per liter of diesel and Rs 10 to 14 per liter of petrol. India’s oil ministry has said that the government has no plans to provide any financial incentives or subsidies to keep oil refineries running.
It is worth noting that these three state-owned companies—Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum—together control more than 90 percent of India’s 1 lakh 3 thousand fuel stations and usually jointly set oil prices.
