New Delhi: Petrol-Diesel prices in the country may drop in the upcoming days as the government of India has decided to release five million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserves.
The decision comes after the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, held a meeting with officials on Tuesday.
However, the drop in prices would not be a long-term thing if the oil-producing nations do not rethink the soaring prices of their crude oil. India has expressed concern over oil-producing countries trying to bring down processed oil supplies below the demand levels. This is an effort to put additional pressure on OPEC countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to increase production and reduce the price of petroleum products.
Many gulf countries are producing crude oil in low amounts to increase the demand for crude oil and earn billions of dollars from high crude oil-consuming nations. India consumes 50 to 55 lakh barrels of Petroleum products daily, and this is why the Central Government has agreed with major countries to release its Petroleum Reserves.
On November 3, the Government of India reduced Central Excise Duty on Petrol and Diesel by Rs. 5 and Rs. 10 respectively. Many State Governments soon followed suit by reducing taxes to reduce the prices further. Despite the huge financial burden on the government, these difficult steps were taken to provide relief to the citizens.
(_Vinayak)
