Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called the increase in fuel prices a “troublesome issue” and said Thursday that the Center and the states will have to come to the table to reduce retail prices for gasoline and fuel. diesel to a reasonable level.
“It is a very annoying subject in which no answer except the reduction of the price (of the fuel) will convince anyone. I know I am negotiating in an area where anything I say to bring reality to the picture will only sound as if I am obfuscating, I am avoiding the answer, I am blaming … ”, he told reporters.
She said that in such a situation no minister can convince anyone. “Because the Indians are Indians, and I am one of them, we will immediately stand up and say, this is all apart, are they reducing the price today or not?”
#CLOCKFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talks about the increase in the price of fuel: “It is an annoying topic in which no answer, except the fall in the price of fuel, will convince anyone. Both the Center and the State should speak to reduce the retail price of fuel to a reasonable level for consumers … ” pic.twitter.com/28LGWNye7I
– ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2021
Fuel prices in India have risen steadily in recent months, with the price of gasoline hitting an all-time high of Rs 97 per liter in Mumbai, while the diesel tariff crossed the Rs 88 mark on Saturday.
According to a price notice from state fuel retailers, the price of gasoline rose by a record 39 paise per liter and diesel by 37 paise per liter. This was the 12th consecutive day of price increases and the largest daily increase since oil companies began reviewing rates on a daily basis in 2017. The increase pushed the price of gasoline to Rs 90.58 and diesel to Rs 80, 97 rupees per liter each in Delhi.
Claiming that he can still repeat all the reasons behind such an increase, Sitharaman said: “It is a fact that both the Center and the states will have to speak.”
He further said that it would not be good for the Center to gain moral ground by reducing excise duties to zero. Because, he reasoned, there would be no guarantee that lost central taxes are not an opportunity for other (states) to profit from that.
“I have no problem with that, they are also part of the country. States can take advantage of that advantage … But if we are all talking about falling consumer prices, the tax collected by the Center and the tax collected by the states are not holier than the other. They are also issues that not all of us want, “he added.
But both the Center and the states are generating revenue, Sitharaman said. “And likewise, there has been a rise in brent since November. In addition, the production forecast by the OPEC countries is likely to decline, which will further exacerbate the pressure on fuel prices, “he added.
Stating that oil prices have technically been released and that the government now has no control over it, he said: “It is the oil trading companies that have to say whether they want to reduce or increase it… It is the oil trading companies that they import crude, refine it, distribute it and even put the cost for logistics … “
So the Center and the states have to sit together to see if they can come up with a way to ensure that retail prices are at a reasonable level, he reiterated.
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