India reduced petrol price by Rs 9.5 per litre, diesel by Rs 7 per litre

Indian Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced that the Union government is reducing the Central excise duty on Petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on Diesel by Rs 6 per litre. This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of Diesel by Rs 7 per litre, reports Jagran English.

Finance Minister Sitharaman also announced that the government is reducing the customs duty on raw materials & intermediaries for plastic products where India's import dependence is high. She said import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced while the export duty on some steel products will be levied, reports

Further, the Union government is taking measures to improve the availability of Cement and through better logistics to reduce the cost of cement, Sitharaman said.

lauding the move Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted "It is always people first for us. Today’s decisions, especially the one relating to a significant drop in petrol and diesel prices will positively impact various sectors, provide relief to our citizens and further ‘Ease of Living'."

This comes after Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) on Saturday hiked the rates of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across the cities where IGL is the main retailer. The step was taken amid the rise in the prices of basic commodities.