Govt sensitive about petroleum prices: Hardeep Puri
Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Aug, 2021 03:04 PM
New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday that the government is sensitive towards the prices of petroleum products and it is taking all possible steps to address the issue.
Puri also blamed the previous Congress government's decisions for the current increase in prices of petroleum products.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP's Delhi unit office on the third day of 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra', Puri said, "We are sensitive towards it (prices of petroleum products) and are taking all the possible steps including blending of ethanol which the government will increase to 20 per cent. We are taking many steps to check the prices. Prices can stabilise only when all the stakeholders take the necessary steps."
Puri also blamed the previous Congress government for deregulating the prices of petrol and diesel in 2010 and for floating oil bonds.
"In 2010, the Congress government deregulated the prices of petrol and diesel which meant there would be a local impact of international prices," Puri said.
He further stated that the Congress government had floated oil bonds and passed them to the current government and this year the Union government has paid Rs 20,000 crore as interest on these bonds.
"The Congress government before 2014 issued oil bonds of Rs 1.34 lakh crore to control prices of petrol and passed on their problem to us. They emptied the 'tijori' (exchequer). We had to pay Rs 20,000 crore as interest this year for the oil bonds," the minister said.
Talking about taxes on petroleum products, Puri said, "The Union government imposes excise of Rs 32 while the states impose VAT on percentage which increases with rise in prices. The Union government uses this excise money to fund schemes like PM Garib Kalyan Yojna under which 80 crore people received free foodgrains, PM Awas Yojna, Ujjwala scheme and other welfare schemes."
He also mentioned that prices in the international market have increased from $19 per barrel in April 2020 to $75 per barrel on the day he took over as the Petroleum Minister last month.
Referring to the Tamil Nadu government's recent decision to reduce auto fuel prices, Puri said, "The state governments can lower the prices of petrol and diesel, as one state has done so recently. Others can also do the same."
A biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t hit cinema halls until the last phase of polling was over on May 19 as the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the Election Commission’s decision not to allow its release during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
In a court hearing on Friday, the company said that the farmers could use its seeds and sell the produce to the company on terms it already offers to other farmers in the state.
In the audio clip, the woman can be heard saying that newborn girls are sold for Rs. 2.75 lakh and "if the babies are fair and good looking, they are sold for Rs. 3 lakh."
The US declined to give India any leeway in importing oil from one of its important regional partners Iran during a high-level visit by a State Department official.
The Chief Minister had, earlier this week, written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to ease the norms for procurement in view of the losses incurred by wheat farmers due to the rainfall in March and April.
