Petrol, diesel prices hiked by 80 paise, total increase now stands at Rs 6.40

NEW DELHI: Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 101.81 per litre as against Rs 101.01 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 92.27 per litre to Rs 93.07, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

In Chennai, the price of petrol is Rs 107.45 (increased by 76 paise) a litre and diesel is Rs 97.52 (increased by 76 paise) per litre. In Kolkata, the price of petrol is Rs 111.35 a litre (increased by 83 paise) and diesel is Rs 96.22 per litre (increased by 80 paise). There had been a pause in the revision of fuel prices since November 4 last year, which was broken on March 22, following the crude oil going upwards in the wake of the Russian military operations in Ukraine.

Prices are set to be raised further given the sharp jump in crude oil prices in the international markets. It will have a cascading impact on the prices of other items and lead to inflationary pressure and hurt growth. It will have a cascading effect on the prices of other items. Meanwhile, Congress has decided to launch a nationwide programme 'Mehngai Mukt Bharat Abhiyan' against price rises under which it will organise rallies and marches across the country from March 31 to April 7.

Notably, on November 3 last year the Centre had cut excise duty by Rs 5 per litre on petrol and Rs 10 per litre on diesel to bring down the retail prices across the country. Following this, several state governments had reduced Value-Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to provide relief to people.