New Delhi: Indians pay a higher price for petrol compared to citizens of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, diesel and kerosene in India is cheapest among the neighbouring countries, according to research wing of the petroleum ministry.
While petrol in India costs Rs 63.20 a litre, in terror-hit Pakistan it is Rs 47.38 per litre, which is around Rs 16 per litre cheaper. In war torn Sri Lanka petrol costs Rs 56.77 per litre, Rs 6.43 a litre cheaper than India, according to Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. However petrol cost Rs 66.57 a litre in Nepal and Rs 79.99 per litre in Bangladesh. Nepal sources all its auto fuel needs from India.
Meanwhile, diesel is priced at Rs 44.95 a litre in India, it costs Rs 54.57 a litre in Pakistan, and Rs 56.52 a litre in Bangladesh. In Sri-Lanka the diesel costs Rs 46.13 a litre and in Nepal Rs 52.63 per litre. Subsidised kerosene which costs Rs 15 per litre in India is priced at Rs 38.33 a litre in Pakistan. However, recently the Centre has been trying to reduce the consumption of
kerosene in India as a cooking fuel and instead is promoting LPG gas as a cleaner option for its citizens. The Centre has hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel four times between November 2014 and January 2015 as global oil prices crashed internationally.
Tax on petrol and diesel was raised by Rs 1.50 a litre each from November 12. Then again from December 2, the excise duty on petrol was increased by Rs 2.25 per litre and by Rs 1 on diesel. It further raised by Rs 2 per litre on January 2 and by a similar amount on January 16.
The increase in excise duty hike on petrol and diesel has resulted in a bonanza for the Centre generating additional revenue of Rs 30,000 crore in the first five months.
