Overview
- The federal government notified a Rs1.97 per litre reduction for petrol and high-speed diesel, fixing petrol at Rs297.53 and HSD at Rs309.50 effective July 4.
- The Petroleum Division raised the Climate Support Levy to Rs5 per litre while trimming the petroleum levy, a fiscal swap that helped contain the visible change in retail prices.
- Official pricing data show taxes, levies and industry margins account for about Rs118.76 per litre of petrol, with the 'actual cost' at roughly Rs178.77, leaving consumers to shoulder a large fiscal share of the pump price.
- Public pressure grew for a far larger cut, with online campaigns and opposition calls for petrol at Rs225 per litre, and critics saying inventory timing and OMC positions have delayed fuller pass-through of falling crude.
- Further changes will depend on the next weekly or fortnightly reviews, shifts in international crude and the rupee, and the new Petroleum Prices Stabilisation Fund and levy settings the government has introduced to manage volatility.