Pranab Rules Out Rollback Of Hike In Prices Of LPG, Diesel

Ruling out any rollback of the recent hike in prices of petroleum goods, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the decision to cut duties would not impact the fiscal deficit of the Indian government.

“No. No question of revoking,” he told PTI when asked whether there was any possibility of a part withdrawal of the hike in prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene announced by the government recently.

The Finance Minister was here to participate at the ‘US-India Economic and Financial Partnership’ jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think-tank.

In view of the spiraling prices of crude oil in the international market, the Indian government had increased the price of diesel by Rs 3 per litre, cooking gas (LPG) by Rs 50 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 2 per litre.

The government had also reduced excise and customs duties on crude oil and other goods, sacrificing annual revenue of Rs 49,000 crore.


From: http://ping.fm/Z3ad7