After the recent hike in the rates of diesel and petrol in India, the oil minister Veerappa Moily has ruled out a roll-back in the rates as of February 18, 2013. The rates of petrol and diesel were recently hiked in the country by Rs. 1.50 and 45 paise-per-liter respectively.
Moily added that just a small rise has been passed to the consumers. The minister said, “Our country imports 73-75 per cent of oil. We need to pay Rs 7 lakh crore for the imports. Where do we find that kind of money”. The price of petrol in Delhi went up by Rs. 1.80 to Rs. 69.06 per litre from February 16, 2013.
Moily also mentioned that everyone must appreciate that the government has not put much pressure on consumers as the rise was minuscule in comparison to what is needed in reality. The minister also said that the money to pay for oil import can either be found by raising taxes or by passing it on to the consumers.
Fuel retailing giant Indian Oil Corporation has announced a price hike of Rs. 1.50 per liter as the international oil prices have gone up. The diesel rates were increased in line with last month’s government decision to allow oil firms to raise prices until they come in line with global rates.
