Centre Cuts Excise Duty On Petrol By Rs 8, Diesel By Rs 6; Prices To Drop By Rs 9.5 And Rs 7

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (21 May) announced a Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 a litre on diesel to avoid an increase in fuel prices necessitated by the surge in international oil prices.

"This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of Diesel by Rs 7 per litre," she was quoted by ANI as saying.

The Finance Minister also said that the Centre will give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.

“Our government, since when PM Narendra Modi took office, is devoted to the welfare of the poor. We’ve taken a number of steps to help the poor and middle class. As a result, the average inflation during our tenure has remained lower than during previous governments,” she said.

The government is also reducing customs duty on raw materials and intermediaries for plastic products.

"Import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced. Export duty on some steel products will be levied," Sitharaman added.

With inputs from PTI