Prices of petrol and diesel remained steady for the tenth day in a row on April 16. Since the end of a four-and-half-month hiatus in rate revision on March 22, rates of petrol and diesel have increased by Rs 10 per litre each through 14 rounds of revision. The prices were last hiked on April 6 by 80 paise a litre each.
According to a price notification from fuel retailers, petrol in Delhi costs Rs 105.41 per litre and diesel Rs 96.67 per litre.
In Mumbai, petrol and diesel prices per litre are Rs 120.51 and Rs 104.77 respectively. In Chennai, petrol costs Rs 110.85 and diesel Rs 100.94. In Kolkata, petrol is Rs 115.12 and diesel Rs 99.83.
Amid an outcry over high fuel prices, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on April 14 said the government has been appealing to states which have not reduced value added tax on petrol and diesel to cut the VAT.
A report on April 12 stated that the current domestic retail fuel prices are benchmarked to international oil prices at $95 per barrel. With Brent crude oil prices close to $100 per barrel in the week, domestic fuel prices could freeze again for some time.
India is 80 percent dependent on imports for its oil needs. Here is how petrol and diesel prices are calculated in India. Also, know how much of it is tax.
137-day freeze on fuel prices ended on March 22
From November 3, 2021 until March 22, 2022, there had been a freeze on fuel prices after the central government's excise duty cut of Rs 5 a litre on petrol and Rs 10 a litre on diesel, and many states also lowering state tax.
During this period, there was also a spike in international crude oil prices. This triggered speculation that the freeze was due to assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
It was widely anticipated that fuel prices at the pump would increase after the poll results were out on March 10.