Oil ministry proposes hiking diesel, kerosene rates in staggered manner

28 Dec 2012 Evaluate

To find ways to meet a record Rs 160,000 crore deficit expected this fiscal on selling fuels below their production cost, a proposal to hike the diesel and kerosene prices is being considered by the Oil Ministry, and if accepted then the diesel prices may go up by Rs 10 per litre in the next 10 months and kerosene rates would be increased by same quantum over the next two years.

The proposal to hike fuel prices comes at a time when under recovery of public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) for diesel has gone up almost Rs 10 a litre whereas for kerosene, it is Rs 30.93 a litre. Price of diesel, which currently costs Rs 47.15 per litre in Delhi, was last revised on September 14 when it was hiked by a steep Rs 5.63 per litre. Since June last year, kerosene rates have not changed and it currently costs Rs 14.79 per litre in Delhi.

The recommendation are based on the report submitted by the Vijay Kelkar Committee, which was appointed by Finance Ministry to devise the fiscal consolidation roadmap, had in its report recommended raising diesel and kerosene rates in staggered manner to cut the Rs 1,63,000 crore fuel subsidy bill.

On the proposed price hike, the oil ministry said, ‘we are left with no choices; there is a need to raise prices. The government is considering raising diesel prices by Re 1 per litre each month for next 10 months to bring retail rates at par with their cost.’ By adding further it said, price of kerosene could be increased by Rs 10 over a two-year period considering it is being used as a cooking fuel by the poor. The price hike along with promoting use of LPG and natural gas as fuel would help cut consumption of the kerosene by 20%.

Further, the government is also expected to soon raise the number of subsidized cooking gas (LPG) from 6 to 9 cylinder of 14.2-kg per household annually. Further, the Petroleum Ministry also requested the Finance Ministry to have just two rates for the fuel - a subsidized price and a market rate, instead of four rates presently. Subsidized LPG costs Rs 410.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder and any household requirement beyond current cap of 6 cylinders is to be bought at near market price of Rs 895.50 per bottle. For non-domestic use, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,156 while a 19-kg cylinder for commercial use is priced at Rs 1,619.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp together in first six months of current financial year lost Rs 85,586 crore on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government-controlled rates, which are way below their cost. Of this, the major Rs 52,711 crore was on account of losses on diesel.

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