Government Takes Steps to Shield Citizens from Global Oil Price Volatility: Petroleum Minister
Excise duty was increased by ₹2/litre in April 2025, the hike was not passed on to consumers, said Hardeep Singh Puri
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, informed the Lok Sabha that the Government has undertaken multiple measures to protect citizens from the impact of global crude oil price fluctuations while ensuring energy security, affordability, and accessibility.
Responding to a starred question, Puri said that despite crude oil prices in the Indian basket rising from $55/bbl in March 2015 to $113/bbl in March 2022 and $116/bbl in June 2022, retail prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi have been reduced from their November 2021 peak of ₹110.04/litre (petrol) and ₹98.42/litre (diesel) to ₹94.77/litre and ₹87.67/litre respectively.
He highlighted that the Centre had reduced excise duty by ₹13/litre on petrol and ₹16/litre on diesel in two tranches in 2021 and 2022, while OMCs cut prices by ₹2/litre each in March 2024. Although excise duty was increased by ₹2/litre in April 2025, the hike was not passed on to consumers. Some state governments also reduced VAT to ease the burden further.
To benefit consumers in remote areas, PSU OMCs rationalised intra-state freight, narrowing the gap between maximum and minimum retail prices within states.
The Minister underlined other government interventions such as:
- Diversifying the crude oil import basket
- Ensuring fuel availability under the Universal Service Obligation
- Boosting domestic exploration and production
- Promoting ethanol blending and renewable energy integration
On alternative energy, Puri said the Government is actively supporting CNG, LNG, hydrogen, biofuels (including ethanol), and electric mobility. Under the National Policy on Biofuels, the target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2030 was advanced to 2025-26. During the ongoing Ethanol Supply Year (2024-25), OMCs have already achieved 19.05% average blending till July 2025, with 19.93% blending in July alone.
To scale up biofuel production, the Government is implementing the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, the biodiesel blending programme, and the SATAT initiative for Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG). Other initiatives include the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana for 2G ethanol from agri-residues and an interest subvention scheme for enhancing distillation capacity across India, including rural areas.
