In the midst of ever-increasing fuel cost in India, the Kerala government today announced a price reduction of Rs. 1 on both petrol and diesel from June 1, 2018. The state's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced the price cut earlier today, saying that they have decided to lower the taxes in order to bring the retail cost down for consumers. With this step, Kerala has become the first state in the country that has decided to take a hit on its revenue to mitigate the impact of higher global prices on customers. This is especially big when you consider the fact that earlier today the centre announced a price reduction of just 1 paisa.
Commenting on the fuel price reduction Pinarayi Vijayan said, "The Centre should reduce the rising fuel prices as it was causing severe hardship to the common man," adding that by reducing the petrol and diesel prices in Kerala, the government has set an example for the Centre to follow. Even as international crude oil prices are coming down, fuel prices in the country were going up, he claimed. However, this reduction will come at a cost to the Kerala government, which is expecting a yearly loss of Rs. 509 crore to the state exchequer on the tax front. The petrol price in the state today was Rs. 82 per litre, while for diesel it was Rs. 75, he said.
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As mentioned before, fuel prices have been increasing consistently for the past sixteen days, since May 14, 2018. Before that, fuel retailers like Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum were on a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to pass on a spike in global oil rates. In all, petrol prices saw a total hike of Rs. 3.8 per litre, while the price of diesel has gone up by Rs. 3.38 in this past fortnight. As of now, Kerala's move on fuel cost is expected to put pressure on other states as well to reduce taxes, which are mostly ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Fuel Rates Today (May 30):
Delhi - Rs. 78.42 (petrol) / Rs. 69.30 (diesel)
Mumbai - Rs. 86.23 (petrol) / Rs. 73.78 (diesel)
Chennai - Rs. 81.42 (petrol) / Rs. 73.17 (diesel)
Kolkata - Rs. 81.05 (petrol) / Rs. 71.85 (diesel)
Hyderabad - Rs. 83.07 (petrol) / Rs. 75.33 (diesel)
