The Union government on Saturday decided to reduce the central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre, which will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 7 per litre.
Announcing the decision in a series of tweets, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the decision was taken as the government is "devoted to the welfare of the poor" and the "middle class". The reduction will have a revenue implication of Rs 1 lakh crore per year, Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman also urged state governments to take similar steps and reduce fuel prices.
Further, the finance minister announced that the Centre will give a subsidy of Rs 200 per LPG cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over 9 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. This will cost the central exchequer Rs 6,100 crore a year.
The finance minister also announced that the Centre will also reduce the customs duty on raw materials and intermediaries for plastic products where India's import dependence is high. "This will result in reduction of cost of final products," Sitharaman said.
"Measures are being taken up to improve the availability of cement and through better logistics to reduce the cost of cement," Sitharaman further tweeted.
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First Published: May 21, 2022 7:01 PM IST
