15 March 2024, New Delhi
Just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule on Thursday, the Centre cut the price of gasoline and diesel by Rs 2 per litre.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced the announcement on social media platform X, stating that the new prices would take effect on Friday, March 15, at 6:00 AM.
Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have announced that the prices of gasoline and diesel have been adjusted nationwide. The new rates would go into effect at 6:00 a.m. on March 15, 2024. According to the government, lower petrol and diesel prices will increase consumer spending and lower operational costs for approximately 58 lakh diesel-powered heavy goods vehicles, 6 crore cars, and 27 million two-wheelers.
https://x.com/PetroleumMin/status/1768302596626718888?s=20
Speaking on the price cut, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that he has “proved once more that the welfare and convenience of he consistently aims to reach the crores of Indians in his family.”
Because of Modi’s astute and visionary leadership, the Modi family remained unaffected even in the face of the worst oil crisis during the 50 years following 1973. During that challenging period, petrol prices rose by 50–72% in both developed and developing nations, and petrol was completely out of supply in many of the countries in which we live. “In the past 2.5 years, India’s petrol prices have dropped by 4.65% rather than rising,” Hardeep Singh Puri stated in his X post.
https://x.com/HardeepSPuri/status/1768304332112601299?s=20
The Union Minister emphasised the notable disparities between the costs of fuel and diesel in India and other nations.
Petrol costs, in rupees, ₹ 94 per litre on March 14, 2024, in India, but ₹ 168.01, or 79% more, in Italy; ₹ 166.87, or 78% more, in France; ₹ 159.57, or 70% more; and ₹ 145.13, or 54% more, in Germany! According to Singh, if we compare diesel costs, India’s average price is 87 ₹ a litre, while in Italy, it is 163.21 ₹, or 88% more; in France, it is 161.57 ₹, or 86% more; in Germany, it is 155.68 ₹, or 79% more; and in Spain, it is 138.07 ₹, or 59% more.
Bhajan Lal Sharma, the chief minister of Rajasthan, also declared on Thursday that the state’s fuel and diesel VAT rates would drop by 2% as of Friday. According to Sharma, purchasers will benefit from a VAT reduction of between Rs 1.40 and Rs 5.30 for petrol and between Rs 1.34 and Rs 4.85 for diesel. At the moment, the Rajasthani government taxes fuel at 31.04% and diesel at 19.30%.