BHUBANESWAR: Even as prices of petrol and diesel have reached an all time high, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli on Friday, August 20, 2021, ruled out any possibility of a cut in the excise duty to provide cushion to consumers.
There is no immediate plan to either reduce taxes on petrol and diesel or rollback on fuel prices as costs have gone up in the international market, he told reporters. Teli instead advised that the State government should take a call and reduce taxes on petroleum products to lessen the burden on retail consumers. The Centre has nothing to do with the increase in the prices of fuel and the price control mechanism is fully linked with the international market, he said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday also ruled out a cut in excise duty saying payments in lieu of past subsidised fuel pose limitations. She had said the NDA government is servicing the oil bonds totalling Rs 1.34 lakh crore issued by the Congress-led UPA government to the state-fuel retailers without paying for the subsidy.
Teli said all oil PSUs as part of Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council have joined hands for setting up six SDIs to cater to the needs of skilled manpower in the sector at Bhubaneswar, Vizag, Kochi, Raebareli, Ahmedabad and Guwahati.