Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri today said the government has chosen to shield citizens of India from the sharp rise in international crude prices amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz by taking a hit on its own finances rather than passing the burden on to consumers. 

 

In a social media post, the Minister stressed that international crude prices have gone through the roof in the last one month, from around 70 dollars per barrel to around 122 dollars per barrel, leading to petrol and diesel price increases of 30 to 50 per cent in Southeast Asian countries, around 30 per cent in North America, 20 per cent in Europe and nearly 50 per cent in African countries. He said the government had two choices: either increase prices drastically like other nations or bear the brunt on its finances to insulate Indian citizens from international volatility.

 

Mr Puri said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government, in keeping with its commitment over the last four years since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, decided to take a hit on its own finances again to safeguard its citizens. He added that the government has taken a huge hit on its taxation revenues to ensure that the very high losses of oil companies, approximately 24 rupees per litre for petrol and 30 rupees per litre for diesel, are reduced at a time of sky-high international prices.

 

The Minister further mentioned that an export tax has been levied, noting that, as international prices of petrol and diesel have skyrocketed, any refinery exporting to foreign nations will have to pay the export tax. The minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the bold and visionary decision.