An Empowered Group of Ministers will meet at 7:30 in the evening to today to take a call on increasing the prices of diesel, LPG and kerosene today. The group, headed by FM Pranab Mukherjee will look at sharing the ’burden’ of loss between end consumers, the government and state-owned companies.
According to some figures, the State-owned oil firms are losing close to rs 15 on every liter of diesel sold. The decision may include passing on a third of this to consumers, although in a staggered manner. The remaining two thirds may be borne by the government and State owned oil firms. A similar strategy is expected to be applied on LPG and kerosene as well.
While the possible fuel price hike is most definitely a sad news, some good things may also come out of the meeting. The government may just reduce some of the duties and taxes to ease off the pressure on oil companies, and the end consumer a little bit.
The latest that we heard, the meeting of the empowered ministers was to take place at 7:30 in the evening. Stay tuned, as we’ll get you the news on the outcome of the meeting as soon as it gets over.