New Delhi: As another hike was rolled out by oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Monday, petrol prices reached Rs 102.58 per litre and diesel touched Rs 94.70 per litre in Mumbai. The price hike comes a day after OMCs hit the pause button on June 13. In Delhi, petrol is now retailing at Rs 96.4 per litre and diesel is at Rs 87.28 per litre. Fuel price hikes have pushed the cost of petrol and diesel to a historical high in India. The government has been under fire from the Opposition for its inability to reduce tax levies in order to reduce fuel prices.
After the fresh hike rolled out by oil retailers on Monday, petrol price crossed the Rs 100-mark in Ladakh as it retailed at Rs 101.95 per litre. In Bhopal, petrol is retailing at Rs 104.59 per litre, while diesel is at Rs 95.91 per litre. Fuel prices differ across states due to the local taxes levied, like VAT and freight charges. At present, petrol costs over Rs 100 per litre in seven states and Union Territories — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Ladakh. Out of these, Congress is the ruling party in Rajasthan and is a coalition partner along with Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra. BJP is in power in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, while Ladakh is under Central rule. Andhra Pradesh has a YSR Congress government and Telangana has TRS in power.
In the backdrop of a financial crunch induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Narendra Modi government has repeatedly raised sales taxes to cushion public finances. Taxes make up around 60 percent of the retail price and taxes on gasoline and diesel have surged around six times since 2013.
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