India on Saturday witnessed another hike in fuel prices, the fourth this week, as the government faces criticism from the opposition over inflation, among other issues.
On Friday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had linked the surge in diesel and petrol prices to the Ukraine war, which has now completed a month.
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On Saturday, the prices of petrol and diesel increased by 80 paise a litre, news agency PTI reported.
Delhi will now be selling petrol at Rs 98.61 per litre and diesel at Rs 89.87 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol prices have risen to Rs 113.35 per litre, whereas diesel will now cost Rs 97.55 per litre.
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On Tuesday, prices on petrol and diesel were hiked for the first time in four months. The country also registered a surge on Friday.
Amid criticism, Sitharaman said on Friday that fuel prices are surging because of supply chain disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war. She said oil marketing companies are procuring crude oil on a 15-day average rate, which is higher because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Also read: Fuel prices: Petrol priced at Rs 97.01, diesel Rs 88.27 in Delhi on March 23, 2022
The “impact of that is on all the countries. Supply chains are disrupted, particularly of crude oil… when India is globally connected in the value chain…” she said.
“Even in 1951, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru could say that the Korean war could affect Indian inflation. I’ll … I’ll have to say, war anywhere can … affect us. Today in a globally-connected world, it will definitely affect,” the minister added.
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Among those who have criticised the government over the issue are Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He said the government has lifted the ‘lockdown’ imposed on the prices of gas, diesel and petrol.
Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp are the major fuel retailers in India.
