New Delhi: Union Minister Petroleum And Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri today responded in Parliament to the misconception being spread about the prices of petrol and diesel. He said, Many in the opposition ranks hold ill-informed & wrongly held notions about the dynamics & nuances of oil prices.
In a recent parliamentary session, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri addressed misconceptions held by opposition members regarding the dynamics of oil prices in India. The discussion highlighted key points about the deregulation of oil prices and the government’s efforts to manage fuel costs amid global crises.
The minister reminded a Congress parliamentarian that oil prices were deregulated between 2004 and 2014 during the two Congress-led UPA regimes. Since then, oil companies, not the government, have determined fuel prices.
The representative also emphasized that during the global health and energy crises between 2020 and 2022, when fuel prices skyrocketed worldwide, India’s fuel prices actually decreased. This was attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to reduce excise duties on fuel twice, in November 2021 and May 2022. Additionally, state governments reduced VAT, and further excise cuts of ₹2 per litre for petrol and diesel were made in March 2024.
Union Minister Puri reminded a learned Congress parliamentarian that oil prices were deregulated in the country between 2004 & 2014 during the two Congress led UPA regimes after which the oil companies, and not the govt decide the prices at which they sell fuel.
He said, India had successfully negotiated the trilemma of energy availability, affordability & sustainability under PM Modi leadership. While filling stations in our neighbourhood were running dry & fuel was being rationed, Indians had unhindered access petrol & diesel. Also took the opportunity to remind him that 2008 onwards, when the govt could regulate oil prices, the then finance minister regrettably decided to brush the issue of rising energy prices under the carpet and instead saddled the people with oil bonds worth ₹1.41 lakh crores. The people of the country are facing the brunt of this fallacy as we are still paying back ₹3.21 lakh crore as principal & interest.
