The government on Wednesday notified an increase in petroleum prices, raising petrol price by Rs 0.48 per litre to make it Rs 87.89 per litre, light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs 4.79 to Rs 86.78 per litre and high speed diesel by Rs 4.67 to Rs 98.82 per litre with effect from December 1 (today). The notified increase in the price of rich man’s vehicle fuel, High Octane Blending Component (HOBC), was only Rs 0.06 to make it Rs 106.78 per litre, while the price of kerosene oil has been increased by Rs 3.48 to Rs 89.24.
The government is also likely to increase electricity prices by four percent in December. The increase will be made to reduce the power tariff differential subsidy to zero during the current fiscal year. Officials said the revision in prices had been made by the government due to the changes in international POL prices and exchange rate. It also helped the government to increase petroleum levy to mitigate its budgetary constraint. The levy in case of petrol has been increased from Rs 9.52 to Rs 9.94 per litre, HOBC from Rs 6.13 to Rs 7.62 per litre and HSD from Rs 4.44 per litre to Rs 5.09 per litre.
The budgetary target for the levy on petrol was Rs 10 per litre, HOBC Rs 14 per litre and HSD Rs 8 per litre. Experts say the increase in diesel prices would have negative impact on the agriculture sector, as the fuel is mostly used in the agricultural machinery. The annual demand of petroleum products in the country is about 20 million tonnes, 400,000 barrels per day, of which only 15 percent is met through local resources.
Govt jacks up fuel prices
