New Delhi, Jul 29 (IANS): Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday that India is the only country where petrol and diesel prices decreased between November 2021 and April 2024.
During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Puri also highlighted that the government is facilitating discussions between the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and the dealers to address margin issues, pointing out that petrol and diesel were deregulated during the UPA administration.
Deregulation means the government does not set the prices of the commodity in the market, he said.
“Prices here being high and elsewhere being low. It's exactly the opposite. In India, the prices today are the lowest, and it is the only country where prices have actually come down,” Puri said.
He credited this to the 'bold, ambitious, and farsighted' decisions made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The prices across the world -- I am giving you a reference period between November 2021 and April 2024. Why I'm doing this is because we have the prices available. In India, the price of petrol came down 13.65 per cent and of diesel 10.97 per cent," Puri said.
However, he noted that in France, petrol prices have increased by 22.19 per cent, in Germany by 15.28 per cent, in Italy by 14.82 per cent, and in Spain by 16.58 per cent.
Puri also pointed out that while petrol prices in India have declined, they have risen in the neighboring countries.
He also slammed the UPA government for issuing oil bonds, stating, "Oil bonds were floated for Rs 1.41 lakh crore. Today, we are having to pay back Rs 3.5 lakh crore for that kind of a farsighted decision."
Regarding the increase in dealers' margins, Puri explained that it is a commercial matter between the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and their dealers.
As of July 1, there are 90,639 retail outlets in the country, with about 90 per cent operated by public sector companies and the remainder by private sector firms.
"We are monitoring the situation and facilitating discussions between the OMCs and the dealers. The last margin increase occurred in 2017. Dealers went to court over some stringent conditions in the guidelines," he said.
"When dealer margins are raised, one condition is that they must comply with the Minimum Wages Act for their employees. The OMCs won the case in the high court, but dealers appealed to the Supreme Court in 2022. Although the matter is still sub judice, we are encouraging a dialogue between the OMCs and the dealers, and hoping for a resolution," the Minister added.