Fuel Prices Rise Constantly For 20th Day
A continuous increase in oil prices has been pinching the pockets of Indians for 20 consecutive days now.
As of Friday, June 26 petrol is being sold at Rs.79.92 per litre and diesel Rs.80.19 per litre in Delhi, while in Mumbai petrol and diesel are getting sold at Rs.86.70 per litre and 78.34 per litre, respectively.
Petrol prices are also alarmingly high in Rajasthan's Jaipur at Rs 86.94 per litre and in some places in Madhya Pradesh, the price is as high as Rs 89.32 per litre.
From June 7, the day the daily revision of petrol prices started, after the 82 days of COVID-19 lockdown, fuel prices have been rising constantly.
Ironically, fuel prices remain much less across the globe, and in fact have been falling since February. According to global crude prices, fuel prices in India should also fall, but only the opposite is happening.
So Why Fuel Prices Are So High In India Despite Record Fall In International Crude Oil's Price ?
In February, International crude oil's price fell down from 55 dollars per barrel to 35 dollars per barrel. From that point of time, it has recovered from 35 dollars per barrel to 37 dollars per barrel. After noticing the international crude oil prices, one would say Indians should get petrol and diesel at very low prices but the problem here is taxes imposed on crude oil products.
During the lockdown, excise duty from the central government was hiked twice; and after the lockdown, some state governments also raised the the Value Added Tax (VAT) on crude oil products.
With combined taxes collected by both Central government and state governments, India is one of the countries that collects the highest taxes on fuel.
Opposition In The Streets Against The Government
After diesel prices overtook petrol prices, opposition came into the streets. Digvijay Singh and Tejasvi Yadav rode a bicycle on the roads of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh in protest.
India's oldest party Congress has also announced that it will protest against the central government by sitting on dharna from 10 am to 12 pm on June 29. India's oldest party also termed this fuel price rise as an unprecedented one.
Some analysts are now suggesting that oil prices could rise further in India as the government falls short of revenue due to the ongoing economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
