Vehicle owners may not get subsidized diesel, indicates govt

04 Aug 2011 Evaluate

With passenger cars consuming about 15% of the diesel, the Finance Minister indicated government might remove the subsidy enjoyed by such vehicle owners. While answering to a question on price raise in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said “...we can accept your (Opposition) suggestion and try to work out what mechanism could be found out so that this section (diesel car owners) is not subsidized.

Government had already deregulated the prices of petrol. However, it has kept its control over the prices of domestic cooking gas, kerosene and diesel. Government provides subsidy of around Rs 6.08 per litre on diesel. The government directly and indirectly compensates the oil marketing companies for losses on account of sale of diesel, kerosene and LPG through subsidies and oil bonds.

However, the government is under the pressure to meet its financial deficit target for the current financial year. Earlier also it had indicated that it was keen on freeing the prices of diesel and cooking gas (LPG) but retaining the subsidy on kerosene which was used by poor.

Earlier in June the government had hiked the prices of domestic cooking gas, kerosene and diesel and removed the custom and excise duties on petroleum products to reduce the impact the increase of price on common man. The decision of slashing custom and excise duties cost around Rs 49,000 crore per annum to the government. Finance Minister said that despite price increase of petroleum products in the recent past, the under recoveries of state-owned oil companies were still around Rs 1.22 lakh crore.

Finance Minister said out of total consumption of diesel, 10% is used by industry, 6% by railways, 12% by the agriculture sector and 15% by car owners. As much as 8% is used for power generation, he said, adding that buses and trucks consume 12% and 37%, respectively.

Sharad Yadav, JD-U leader and NDA convenor, had questioned the UPA government’s policy of providing subsidies for diesel for consumption by luxury car owners’ telecom tower companies’ mall and restaurants. Currently, India import around 75% of its total crude oil consumption. 

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