Fuel Price Hike LIVE: Petrol, Diesel Prices Hiked By Rs 3 In India, Delhi Rates Near Rs 100 Mark

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[00:00:00]what the Singapore uh you know head to say if you hear other countries as well they've all warned their public the times ahead are tough so prep up for it the prime minister's so-called you know spend wise mantra was also in a way a warning was expectation management to tell us that times are tough spend less and immediately 3 days later you see what has This is what the question now is how soon will hormones open and how soon can this be cut down but what happens to the deficit in the middle but the takeaway from this entire calculation is this and remember this is just petrol and this is just petrol that I've told you about diesel is much wider and this will actually have an impact on pricing even more but what will the government do in days ahead will be interesting to watch out for. I'm told I have SC G former finance secretary with me joining us for more details on this and let me got across to him and understand a little more. Uh Mr. G, thank you so much for joining us. I was trying to do a rough calculation here to see how exactly the days ahead are going to look like. What is your understanding? Do you think this three rupee hike at the moment is just a trial balloon, just the tip of the iceberg?

[00:01:24]phases phased wise increase is the only option and is the only logical thing to happen in the coming days.

[00:01:34]So there are large under recoveries which you have pointed out 24 30 rupees someone has to bear the cost of it either the government bears it or the oil companies bear it or the or the consumers bear it. The government earlier reduced the excise duties by 10 rupees.

[00:01:55]>> That is what the government took upon itself. The hit on its finances. Now um uh for the rest the oil companies were bearing it until now and now it has been passed on to a small marginal extent to the consumers at about 3 rupees. There is a large gap. Oil companies cannot sustain this. somebody has to take it and therefore if the situation continues as it is and that the crude oil prices remain elevated about 110 120 uh dollars per barrel uh sooner or later the the government will have to pass on. It makes uh sense not to give a big big jolt at one go and prepare the people um slowly slowly um this three rupees maybe next week or next 15 days and other 3 five rupees and in over a period of two months if the the prices continues to be like this that is the way the government will have to pass on. The government cannot further reduce the taxes. The oil companies cannot bear it. And therefore this is the uh most logical uh sense or measure in the given circumstances.

[00:03:21]>> Right? That was my sense as well. Uh but Mr. Kirk help me understand it. the measures, the spend-wise measures that the prime minister has asked the country to sort of move towards what role do they play in the larger scheme of things here.

[00:03:38]>> That is not really encouraging to my mind. That's more symbolic and uh this is one of the weakest measures to my mind. The price increase is the hard measure. you have to allow the increase to take place and the economy to readjust the consumers to readjust consumption. Um uh you can also have the option of passing it on to people in general. That is for example if the if the government decides that instead of raising in the price to the consumers it would provide subsidies from the budget to the oil companies. In that case the whole of the deficit gets spread to the taxpayers in general or so that is how the government can take decisions. So uh but it's unfair in that sense that those who are consuming petrol and diesel instead of them bearing the cost of it those who don't even consume that is spread over them.

[00:04:51]So of the three news available either you raise prices or you allow it to be spread in general by taking a hit on the government or allow the oil companies to bleed to losses. So I these are the three options available. Got it.

[00:05:13]>> Being the sest I'm trying to understand Mr. G why did you say it's the weakest? What did you mean by that?

[00:05:21]See we weakest in the sense that you make an appeal. Now appeal is adhered to or accepted or not accepted depends upon the uh the consumers.

[00:05:34]>> So uh let us take the case of patrol and diesel. The diesel is used more for the agricultural operations and also uh to some extent on in industry. So restaurant industry and the agriculture farmers use it. Now if they decide to cut down the use of diesel >> that would mean that they would the crops would suffer or the industrial production would suffer. That is actually a worse remedy than than a good one. The only section where the consumers directly those who use it for mobiles or transport etc. they may switch over to the other means but if you take the given state of transportation available in the country let us take Delhi for example the metros are already over choked >> the capacity is the private vehicle doesn't find the metro option to be a good option it may not actually be very convenient from the time point of view or in the cost point of view because connectivity from homes stations then coming out the crowd and other >> my understanding is Mr. This was prime minister's way of sort of forewarning people about the hikes.

[00:06:56]>> My that's my personal understanding. I I just think it was just a way to manage expectations and tell people that this is going to happen. I think that's what he was trying to do. Uh because a lot of it I don't see private, you know, offices cutting down work from home. I don't see schools shutting down. I don't think a COVID-L like measure will actually take place uh when it comes to private adoption. It's still early days.

[00:07:17]I don't know if that will happen, but that's not the sense that I'm getting from private sector. But for the moment, Mr. Gra for calling it as it is and for sharing all your knowledge with us.

[00:07:25]Thank you so much for joining in.

[00:07:30]All right. So the biggest story of the day is clearly that diesel and petrol prices went up by 3 rupees a liter. Now the price was a pause was you know the price rise in a way was on a pause for 4 years and that pause has been unpaused. And if you were watching closely, the government told you this was going to happen. It hasn't come as a surprise really. Let me quickly tell you where they stand in the top metros. In Delhi, petrol is now 94.

[00:07:58]Diesel uh is 97. Beg your pardon? Was 94, now is 97, diesel is now 90. In Mumbai, petrol is now 106. Uh diesel diesel is 106, petrol is 103. In Kolkata, petrol is 105. uh and in Chennai petrol is also 103.

[00:08:20]But why now? Why is this hike happening at this point? Remember before the West Asia war escalated on the 28th of Feb.

[00:08:29]This year the Brent crude was at $73 a barrel. Look at that number. 73 going up different ways, different times of the war when it started. Now finally it has crossed that mark as well. It crossed 126 also at one particular point. In just about 60 days it stands at around you know 200 you know going out a little further there. The state of Hormuz is closed and with that 45% of India's crude oil supply route it's stuck there. Now India has to find oil elsewhere. This means longer routes it means costlier routes.

[00:09:07]The oil minister confirmed that the state-run companies were absorbing the losses of 1,000 cr every single day just to hold prices steady.

[00:09:20]Now that could not go on forever. He said the rest of the world had already raised prices. India did not. India was in middle of four critical state elections.

[00:09:30]What was a political pause on price rise has today been financially unpaused.

[00:09:38]The government has laid out its intentions in stages. If you see March 27th crude at $122 a barrel, oil minister Hardi Puri cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel saying that government was taking a hit on its own finances to shield the customers. A shield remember not a permanent fix.

[00:09:58]This is what the oil minister said. Then came the comment on the 12th of May where he posted on on social media confirming that OMC's are losing 1,000 K a day and calling out critics who said the that a crisis was coming. Same week the RBI governor weighs in. Sanjay Malhotra says that it is just a matter of time before the government passes on some of the price increase. So three voices one direction.

[00:10:27]Industry sources say that 3 rupees is roughly 110th of the correction actually needed. Let that sink in.

[00:10:38]110th.

[00:10:41]Companies were reportedly losing 100 rupees per liter on diesel and 20 rupees per liter on petrol. The gap is large.

[00:10:51]More hikes perhaps expected in phases.

[00:10:57]Total correction of petrol could be about 23 rupees. Diesel could be about 30. The pattern is already visible.

[00:11:05]Prime Minister's conservation appeal first excise cut then and now the increase of 3 rupees more possibly to follow. What's the prime minister's appeal? A way to prepare us for the times to come. Expectation management it's called.

[00:11:24]Fuel price changes feed into transportation costs, remember within two to three months, pushing up food and goods prices across the board. And 3 rupees today will show up on your grocery bill soon. But what comes next will add to that as well. The question we are asking tonight is that is this just the beginning of a longdrawn price increase? Is this three rupees just onetenth of what is actually about to hit your and my wallet?

[00:12:34]option.

[00:12:41]The long expected fuel price hike is finally here.

[00:12:46]Oil marketing companies have announced a 3 rupee hike in fuel prices and a 2 rupee increase in CG prices.

[00:12:56]The price hike is set to have a cascading effect leading to price rise.

[00:13:03]India today tracked the impact from every major city after the fuel price hike.

[00:13:11]Diesel petrol prices have been hiked by around three rupees. If you talk of Kashmir, the latest or uh today's price of petrol is 104.04 means around 3 rupees 9 pesa the prices have increased and as far as diesel is concerned uh it's around a hike of 2.98 rupees. In Delhi if you're buying petrol this morning it will cost you 97 rupees 81 pesa and for diesel you'll have to spend 90 rupees 71 pesa. Uh this increase for CNG is nearly 2 rupees.

[00:13:51]Fuel prices have been hiked across India and I'm coming to you a place from Bengaluru a petrol station or a fuel station where uh you can see people coming here to fill in their tanks.

[00:14:02]Rupees three is the what the hike has been put in place right now. Uh the price right now per liter in Bengaluru is somewhere around 106 rupees. So we can see 106.22 per liter of fuel and diesel stands at 94.09.

[00:14:21]The arm jantaa shared their concerns over the increased financial impact of the fuel price hike.

[00:14:46]And the hike comes just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the mantra of saving and spending wisely and urged people to conserve fuel.

[00:15:08]Petrol, diesel, metro, electric bus or public transport or private virtual meetings.

[00:15:30]or work from home.

[00:15:36]>> The prime minister led by example and significantly reduce the size of his convoy to save fuel.

[00:15:44]Several other political leaders followed suit.

[00:15:51]Just days ago, oil companies had hiked commercial LPJ cylinder prices by 993 rupees.

[00:16:00]If the West Asia crisis doesn't end soon, citizens may have to brace for even tougher times ahead with Nagarjun, Dwaran, Amit Bharadwaj, Kamaljit Korandhu, Aim Basi and Mir Fared. Bureau report India today.

[00:16:25]>> Delhi has now become the first state in the country to implement 2 days of work from home. This after the spend wise mantra that has been fielded by the prime minister. Delhi has also proposed Monday or metro Mondays as they are calling it. There are also now strict restrictions saying that none of the officers will be taking any foreign trips for the next one year. No new vehicles to be bought for the next 6 months as well. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions on how this will be carried out. And to talk to us a little bit all about that joining me, the senior cabinet minister in the Delhi government, Mr. Majinder Singh Sria.

[00:17:05]Good morning, sir. Thank you so much for your time.

[00:17:07]>> Very good morning s.

[00:17:09]>> Uh Mr. Sa has it started already are you working from home today is my first question.

[00:17:16]>> No today is not our home. It is on witness day when we'll be working from our home. It's a witness day and a Saturday. It's a two-day >> witness day and Saturday.

[00:17:28]>> All right sir. Will this apply work from home study from home? Will this apply for government schools and colleges next?

[00:17:39]It is already been conveyed to the colleges also that if possible the non-practical classes should be taken on online classes and also requested the universities to for the administration staff to work from home >> right but so the effectiveness of all of this will happen if you get the private sector on board have you had conversations with ficky with CI etc to see how this will be adopted by the private sector >> yes we are in touch with all these organizations s and our labor minister Kapil Mishra has been insured with this responsibility to talk to them. We will try to en ensure that this is strictly implemented in Delhi and especially in case of private sector also.

[00:18:21]>> Right sir. Uh sir talk to us a little bit about why Delhi felt the need. We've seen pictures over the past couple of days ever since the prime minister's appeal came in of ministers across the country actually come out and you know do their bit lead by example. the prime minister himself as well. Why did you feel the need that work from home had to be mandated in Delhi? What was the thinking in the cabinet?

[00:18:46]>> So as you said very well you said about the prime minister it is the message of the honorable prime minister which is implemented in Delhi also and for that reason to save the fuel to save our economy to save the foreign exchange these kind of steps have been taken by the government of Delhi honorable our chief minister Gupta G. It is not just about the uh only staff, it's about the ministers also, the chief minister also.

[00:19:09]The we want a participation from the public also. We have requested the entire Delhi that at least one they should one day they should travel without their vehicle. They should have any kind of public transport may it be a metro or a bus or whatsoever. So it is about the message from our prime minister. It aligns with their message that yes we have to save our foreign econ foreign currency. We have to save the maximum fuel possible because the today as the war is going across the uh we have seen this and for that reason uh fuel prices are increasing day by day day by day and to control that we should minimize that >> right but sir it's a it's a tough one to implement on the ground especially for ministers to have metro Mondays is there a timeline to how long this will I must tell you.

[00:20:28]entire cabinet chief minister ministers 15% We will try our best.

[00:21:03]All right, sir. You spoke about the prices of petrol and diesel. This morning we've woken up to a three rupees hike as well. My question is this. Do you think this is a sort of a trial balloon? This is just first of the many more that could follow.

[00:21:21]>> See uh as far as the prices are concerned, the state government has no much of hand in this. It is all depends on the central government and the petroleum ministry how they get the fuel and what kind of fuel at what prices they are getting. But yes, it will continue there. More reforms will also come. It we you can use that a word of reforms in your everyday's life.

[00:21:40]Sometimes our lifetimes has been changed due to code also people have changed their lifestyle. So it is a not just a it is a very common thing to change your lifestyle. I think I believe this is one of the things and in coming days definitely more things will come up as as the situation will arise and as the if the things get more deepen then obviously the prime minister will give another message and we are not aware of that but definitely for day for now onwards it is mandatory for everybody including ministers and officers. All right sir then help us understand this because the opposition at this point is saying that they waited the BJP government waited for elections to get over and then implement the price hike.

[00:22:18]How do you answer that allegation?

[00:22:20]>> So it is always the opposition I haven't seen in last 12 years when opposition would ever aligned with the government vision or our prime minister's vision.

[00:22:30]They will definitely question because they have nothing else to do. The only thing is today they should answer one question whether they will align with this message or not. Whether they are with us for saving of fuel and foreign economy or not the question is very simple but they will torch here and there and they will say election election there every other months there is election. Now there are pre-elections there in Punjab. The the civil this municipal elections are there in Punjab.

[00:22:59]Another three months there will elections in elections are always there.

[00:23:02]Every 3 months there are elections in this country. But no neither the government wait for an elections.

[00:23:08]Neither the government has this kind of a thought process that we will win this election then we will put this kind of thing. No that is not at all.

[00:23:14]>> But so Mr. SA look at the plight of the common man at the moment. Uh prices of fuel are up. Wholesale price index is up.

[00:23:24]We know what's happening to farmers. And in the middle of it all, you have this appeal from the prime minister to go on several other measures, austere measures to sort of ensure that we are keeping our spendings wisely. At this point, the common man is bound to feel very overwhelmed.

[00:23:43]So, it is not the first time. I think channels are only overwhelmed.

[00:23:48]general public is well aware of the fact I do remember.

[00:23:58]So you're saying this as big as a warated you're saying the situation is as dire as being on war.

[00:24:06]We are not on war but the other countries are on war and situation is getting worse day by day. The entire world is facing this. It is not about just India and everybody every Indian who has a passion for this country is well aware that when it comes to the nation we should stand by the nation >> that's the mantra we have been taught in schools colleges also >> right another allegation that has come in on the BJP government Mr. Siza is that prime minister's speech was primarily something of a expectation management. He let everybody know that things are not going well and thus they should prepare for worse times ahead. Is that the understanding within the government as well that this is just the tip of the iceberg? The coming few months and years could be very tough on the economy including our personal wallets as well.

[00:25:00]Nothing as such has been neither said neither it is there but yes today what situation you and me can say with a bare eyes that is the only problem here there's a war between Iran Iran and America and the fuel prices are getting more costed day by day by day that is the only situation night nothing more than that nothing lesser than that >> chal Mr. Mr. Susha, thank you so much for being here. I can also say this that one good thing that has come out of work from home is that at least there'll be lesser pollution in the city. Uh there will be lesser cars hopefully.

[00:25:34]>> No, definitely not just lesser car.

[00:25:37]>> Go ahead. It will also save the definitely it will say we will have a lesser pollution also and people do understand these kind of problems and they are definitely with honorable prime minister for is the message which he has given and I've seen the change in Delhi from last two days as few have also noticed traffic jams Monday morning I think that's when we will actually get to Metrochange.

[00:26:33]We all should contribute to it.

[00:26:35]>> All right. So let's see. Big ambitious plans have been rolled out by the Delhi government. They are saying they're leading by example. They say it will be a stained effort as well. Will this get participation of the people? Will it get participation of the private sector?

[00:26:50]That remains to be seen for the moment.

[00:26:52]Mr. Sria, thank you so much for speaking with India today.

[00:26:54]>> Thank you.

[00:26:55]>> So for the first time in four years, the government has hiked fuel prices 3 rupees per liter. Before we bring you voices from the ground, here's a look at the city-wise rates from South India.

[00:27:08]Bengaluru the price of petrol has risen to 106 rupees and 17 pes per liter.

[00:27:14]Diesel is at 94 rupees and 10 pes. Now as far as Chennai is concerned, petrol prices are at 103 rupees uh and 84 pes.

[00:27:25]Diesel at 95.25 rupees. Hyderabad a liter of petrol now costs 110 rupees 89 pesi diesel is at 98.96 let's get you a sense of what's the situation in Thirvanapuram with that hike one will have to pay 110 rupees 76 per say for a liter of petrol 99.64 64 rupees for diesel and this hike of course many would say was expected considering global tensions disruptions in west Asia the straight of hormones a key oil route has been affected nearly 45% of India's crude supply chain has been hit so therefore India is importing oil while longer costlier routes the question that's being asked right now as a result of this is are we going to see those prices shoot up in the next few days further We give you a sense of really what the rates are looking like in the southern states, in the cities.

[00:28:21]We get you ground reports.

[00:28:30]Fuel prices have been hiked across India and I'm coming to you a place from Bengaluru, a petrol station or a fuel station where uh you can see people coming here to fill in their tanks.

[00:28:40]Rupees three is the what uh the hike has been put in place right now. uh the price right now per liter in Bengaluru is somewhere around 106 rupees. So we can see 106.22 to per liter of fuel and diesel stands at 94.09.

[00:28:57]Uh starting from midnight 3 rupees has been hiked across uh across Bengaluru city. Let me try speaking to one such customer as to what uh he or she feels at this point of time. Let me uh try getting in a word as to what do they feel about the price hike. Uh sir uh you have just put in uh fuel uh there.

[00:29:21]>> Uh the price has been hiked for 3 rupees per liter. How do you see this sir?

[00:29:27]>> Uh what else to say? We have to bear it right. What else can be done right? It's a global crisis. So you have to >> but the government is asking people to reduce uh going on foreign trips, reduce buying gold. Do you agree with the government or do you think there has to be there can be solutions?

[00:29:44]>> Uh there is no other options right if you want the foreign reserves to be in control there's no other options so we have to cooperate people still have to commute still have to travel most of them do take the metro or the public transport system but however few of them will have to depend on on their bikes or the cars and now by 3 rupees increase the petrol prices stands at 106.22 22 in the city of Bengaluru. Nagar Jundar Kanat for India today.

[00:30:14]>> Prices of petrol and diesel have gone up in Chennai by 3 rupees. A lot of commute commuters are visibly angry uh and it is almost palpable their anger. They are condemning the price rise by three rupees. They said that first it was LPG prices that were hiked up and now it's petrol and diesel and therefore it's really burning a big hole in the pockets of middle class is what they're saying.

[00:30:36]On the other hand, there are many other sections of middle class who are actually in support of this price rise.

[00:30:43]In fact, they're saying that for the last 6 months uh there has been no price rise in petrol and diesel. Even when there was a war brewing in West Asia and there was so much impact but still the government had not increased the prices and it's only now after defering by around 6 months that they have hiked the prices which is okay and we should be able to bear with that and adjust and it's the game of life is what many other middle- class sections also say. So the opinions at this point uh look really diverse and that could be because of the fact that the purchasing power of different sections of middle class are different. uh the anger is there at the same time there is a section that is also saying that it's okay let's bear with it so right now what I'm hearing is that uh the price rise here in Chennai has uh garnered sufficient anger among the auto drivers particularly and those who are dependent on only two wheelers for their everyday commute and they are demanding for the roll back of the price rise with camera person Daniel anag reporting for India today from Chennai Well, we at the petrol station in Bakery Junction, Thirwanapuram, the state capital of Kerala. And the petrol price today stands at 110.76 per liter. And the diesel prices stand at 99.6 uh 4 per liter. So it was already 106 and now it's 96. So this there's already a LPG shortage also that we are experiencing and we can already see how the hotels and restaurants have already started increasing the price of food items. So uh that's one concern that all of them were raising. We spoke to a lot of them. Some of them also mentioned about how the elections um you know uh once since the elections are over now they can increase the price uh of petrol and diesel was another reaction that came in from people. Some of them say that we can't help it. we'll have to just go with the flow and uh you know we can't stop ourselves from uh using petrol and diesel. So there's no way out there. We just have to follow whatever happens is what some of them said. uh there's a lot of criticism also coming in asking like when the price of crude oils fell internationally why wasn't it the benefit of it being passed on to the people and also some is a question and a criticism that's coming in from the political fronts here also uh Pendai Vijan the former chief minister of Kerala the newly elected leader of opposition of Kerala also raises issue that why was in the benefits of crude oil's prices being dropped internationally passed on to the people and this is uh gross injustice grave injustice that's being meted out to the people of India is what uh uh is how Pindra Vision responded. Uh that's the scenes here. Most of these petrol pumps the commuters who are coming here are raising this very serious concern about how much this is going to affect their day-to-day lives with video journalist Kiji for India today from Thirand.

[00:33:36]>> Well yes work from home is quite not possible in a city like Hyderabad but what we are learning is today after the price hike of 3 rupees in the city of Hyderabad the prices have gone to 110.89 89 for the petrol and for the diesel it has gone to 98 rupees more than 98 rupees. We are joined by uh the commuters here. Sir, your name please.

[00:33:56]>> Mah Shadu.

[00:33:56]>> What do you have to say on the price hike that has been done today? 3 rupees each on petrol and diesel.

[00:34:15]Let me show you the prices of diesel in the city of Hyderabad. The diesel prices with a hike of 3 rupees have gone to 98 rupees and 96 pes. And for the petrol the prices have now reached 110 rupees and you know 89.

[00:34:46]Okay. Okay. So this is what the reactions that are coming in from petrol stations here after the 3 rupees hike in the city of Hyderabad as well. Let me show you the prices here. 110 rupees 89 pes for the petrol right now where people are right now filling in fuel uh at these at the petrol station here in Vidyanagar of Hyderabad.

[00:35:05]>> All right. But let me explain to you what really is happening when it comes to petrol and diesel prices and why we say the 3 rupee is just a trial balloon.

[00:35:14]Okay. So imagine that there was a price that you and I were paying and there is a price that the companies that the oil companies were paying. The oil companies were paying a price for petrol at least we are told if we look at the number given by the petroleum minister himself on his social media 24 rupees more than what you and I pay.

[00:35:41]Okay.

[00:35:42]on diesel they were playing around 30 rupees more. Okay. Now out of this 24 the government said it is going to let go of some of its own margins to ease out the pressure on the companies. So I'm just giving you for your understanding it's not an accurate number but say this number comes down to 20. Let me see if this makes sense. The government said okay we'll ease it out.

[00:36:10]Let's bring it to 20. Okay. Now, what is the price hike that we have seen so far?

[00:36:17]Only one time so far after the elections which is 3 rupees. Now, this increase in price has come. This is only 3 rupees.

[00:36:27]What does this tell you? That there is still a deficit of 17.

[00:36:33]Where will this 17 come from?

[00:36:36]That is the question.

[00:36:38]What we are made to understand from experts from sources within the government at the moment is that the only logical thing for the government to do at this time is to give you a staggered increase. So say it's 3 rupees right now, it will be another three or five later and that entire margin of 17 will be met. So ultimately this is the price we've got to pay 20 rupees more.

[00:37:07]This is just to make you understand how these numbers are actually panning out.

[00:37:12]Now, is there something that the government governments different economies have all given out warnings?

[00:37:19]If you hear what the Singapore uh you know head to say, if you hear other countries as well, they've all warned their public the times ahead are tough.

[00:37:28]So, prep up for it. The prime minister's so-called you know spend wise mantra was also in a way of warning was expectation management to tell us that times are tough spend less and immediately 3 days later you see what has happened.

[00:37:50]This is what the question now is how soon will hormones open and how soon can this be cut down but what happens to the deficit in the middle but the takeaway from this entire calculation is this and remember this is just petrol and this is just petrol that I have told you about diesel is much wider and this will actually have an impact on pricing even more but what will the government do in days ahead will be interesting to watch out for I'm told I have SC Gul former finance secretary with me joining us for more details on this and let me got across to him and understand a little more. Uh Mr. G thank you so much for joining us. I was trying to do a rough calculation here to see how exactly the days ahead are going to look like. What is your understanding? Do you think this three rupee hike at the moment is just a trial balloon? just the tip of the iceberg. Phases phased wise increase is the only option and is the only logical thing to happen in the coming days.

[00:38:54]>> So there are large underreoveries which you have pointed out 24 30 rupees someone has to bear the cost of it either the government bears it or the oil companies bear it or the com or the consumers bear it. The government earlier reduced the excise duties by 10 rupees.

[00:39:15]>> That is what the government took upon itself. The hit on its finances. Now um uh for the rest the oil companies were bearing it until now and now it has been passed on to a small marginal extent to the consumers at about 3 rupees. There is a large gap. Oil companies cannot sustain this. somebody has to take it and therefore if the situation continues as it is and that the crude oil prices remain elevated about 110 120 uh dollars per barrel uh sooner or later the uh the government will have to pass on. It makes uh sense not to give a big big jolt at one go and prepare the people um slowly slowly um this three rupees maybe next week or next 15 days and other 3 five rupees and in over a period of two months if the the prices continues to be like this that is the way the government will have to pass on. The government cannot further reduce the taxes. The oil companies cannot bear it. And therefore, this is the most logical uh sense or measure in the given circumstances.

[00:40:41]>> Right. That was my sense as well. Uh but Mr. Kirk, help me understand it. the measures, the spend-wise measures that the prime minister has asked the country to sort of move towards, what role do they play in the larger scheme of things here.

[00:40:58]>> That is not really encouraging to my mind. Uh that's more symbolic. Um and uh this is one of the weakest measures to my mind. The price increase is the hard measure. you have to allow the increase to take place and the economy to readjust the consumers to readjust consumption. Um uh you can also have the option of passing it on to people in general. That is for example if the if the government decides that instead of raising the price to the consumers it would provide subsidies from the budget to the oil companies. In that case the whole of the deficit gets spread to the taxpayers in general or so that is how the government can take decisions. So uh but it's unfair in that sense that those who are consuming petrol and diesel instead of them bearing the cost of it those who don't even consume that is spread over them. So of the three news available either you raise prices or you allow it to be spread in general by taking a hit on the government or allow the oil companies to bleed to losses. So I these are the three options available. Got it.

[00:42:33]Being the safest I'm >> I'm trying to understand Mr. Why did you say it's the weakest? What did you mean by that?

[00:42:41]See we weakest in the sense that you make an appeal. Now appeal is adhered to or accepted or not accepted depends upon the uh the consumers.

[00:42:54]>> So uh let us take the case of patrol and diesel.

[00:42:57]>> The diesel is used more for the agricultural operations and also uh to some extent on in industry. So restaurant industry and the agriculture farmers use it. Now if they decide to cut down the use of diesel >> that would mean that they would the crops would suffer or the industrial production would suffer. That is actually a worse remedy than than a good one. The only section where the consumers directly those who use it automobiles or transport etc. they may switch over to the other means but if you take the given state of transportation available in the country let us take Delhi for example the metros are already over choked >> the capacity is the private vehicle doesn't find the metro option to be a good option it may not actually be very convenient from the time point of view or in the cost point of view because connectivity from homes stations coming out the crowd and other >> my understanding is Mr. this was prime minister's way of sort of forewarning people about the hikes.

[00:44:16]>> My that's my personal understanding. I I just think it was just a way to manage expectations and tell people that this is going to happen. I think that's what he was trying to do. Uh because a lot of it I don't see private you know offices cutting down work from home. I don't see schools shutting down. I don't think a covid like measure will actually take place uh when it comes to private adoption. It's still early days. I don't know if that will happen but that's not the sense that I'm getting from private sector but for the moment Mr. Gag for calling it as it is and for sharing all your knowledge with us thank you so much for joining in.

[00:44:50]All right so the biggest story of the day is clearly that diesel and petrol prices went up by 3 rupees a liter. Now the price was a pause was you know the price rise in a way was on a pause for four years and that pause has been unpaused and if you were watching closely the government told you this was going to happen it hasn't come as a surprise really let me quickly tell you where they stand in the top metros in Delhi petrol is now 94 diesel uh is 97 beg your pardon was 94 now is 97 diesel is now 90 in Mumbai petrol Pet is now 106. Uh diesel diesel is 106. Petrol is 103. In Kolkata petrol is 105. Uh and in Chennai petrol is also 103.

[00:45:40]But why now? Why is this hike happening at this point? Remember before the West Asia war escalated on the 28th of Feb this year, the Brent crude was at $73 a barrel. Look at that number. 73 going up different ways, different times of the war when it started. Now finally it has crossed that mark as well. It crossed 126 also at one particular point. In just about 60 days it stands at around you know 20 you know going out a little further there. The state of Hormuz is closed and with that 45% of India's crude oil supply route it's stuck there. Now India has to find oil elsewhere. This means longer routes. It means costlier routes.

[00:46:27]The oil minister confirmed that the state-run companies were absorbing the losses of one our face off this evening.

[00:46:36]Joining me Bhavia Narima Morti spokesperson Congress Sanju continues to be with us from the BJP. Bhavia your two minutes start now. Where we are is collateral. We have no part to play. Uh this is all the ramifications coming in from West Asia. Why the politics over the fuel rise?

[00:46:55]>> Um you know where their public is involved, politics is obviously involved.

[00:47:02]Now when the crude oil prices were going down, you know, we're on a soft decline.

[00:47:08]The government could have given the benefits to the people of the state.

[00:47:12]They did not. Now that the clo price are high rising, the government is not able to act like a buffer at all. The inflation is projected to be 6%. And guess what? Look at the timing. Right after the five state elections, he increased the LPG price by like 1,000 rupees, almost 900 rupees. The commercial price and petrol price, diesel price, it it's only been increasing.

[00:47:38]So um let me tell you from 2014 to 2025, what is the increase in the petrol price? It was 71 rupees when the barrel each barrel costed hundreds of dollars.

[00:47:52]Now it is 97 rupees. Of course for the past many months it has been in in '90s uh you know when the crude oil was like 60 rupees 70 rupees per barrel. They could have passed on the benefits to the c consumers the government they did not do that. That was that is exactly what we are questioning now that it's price it's rising the prime minister just wants to come and say you know what cut down on the fuel stop traveling abroad uh cut down on your destination weddings stop buying gold is this is this what an economist does is this what administration is what were they doing didn't they not predict this the war started when and what happened after that okay prime ministers will ask us to cut down on fuel and all of this but he will go on a road show only after the outcry he started taking only two vehicles as his uh in his motorc car.

[00:48:46]That's not how it works. No, it's not just he's setting example. He's a prime minister. This is not just for optics.

[00:48:53]He needs to do something about this. He can't uh transfer all the burden on the people.

[00:48:58]>> Sanjay, if it wasn't as predictable as it is, uh you know, it wouldn't have been this amusing. But uh elections end and as expected, there's a fuel hike. 2 minutes time starts now.

[00:49:11]>> You know Priy first and foremost let me make one thing very clear. Globally Brent crude price is up 81%. Saudi contract prices are up 44%. Saudi Aramco prices are up 66%. European gas futures are up 72% and spot LNG prices are up 134%. Lo behold globally crude oil and gas prices have skyrocketed.

[00:49:39]But in India we raised petrol and diesel prices by 3 rupees a liter which in percentage terms is just a 3.2% hike. The war started in late February.

[00:49:53]76 days later there has been a marginal price hike and the Congress Darbari ecosystem is absolutely rattled. For perspective, let me tell your viewers.

[00:50:05]I'm sure they will be interested in this data. IN UNITED STATES, BETWEEN FEBRUARY and May, petrol prices up 44.5%.

[00:50:14]in Nepal 38%, South Africa 33%, Canada 32%, New Zealand 31%, Thailand 30%, China 22%, France 21%, United Kingdom 21%, Australia 19%, South Korea 21%, so on and so forth. Every economy globally has been affected by a black swan event.

[00:50:37]A black swan event called the West Asia crisis which has not resolved for various reasons. So to isolate the Modi government and blame the BJP is actually Congress living in La La Land. And let me say one more thing. Thank God it is Narendra Modi and we've only seen a 3% price hike. Manmosan Singh in 2012 raised petrol prices in one go by 8 rupees a liter and when questioned by media he said >> all right last 1 minute each go I only have 2 minutes 1 minute each your time begins now you know data can be interpreted in different ways but while comparing you need to compare the timeline as well you spoke about American price rise Right now when they are in the middle of a war right I'm talking about the past 12 years of your rule in 2014 the petrol price was 70 g one rupees per liter when each barrel cost$1 to $110 right now just before the war where you are the petrol price in India was 90 plus the each barrel costed only 60 to 70 rupees and you know what diesel price when we uh when Congress went out of power and BJP took over. It was 56 rupees 771 pes and today it is 90 rupees 67 pes. LPG it was 412 rupees in 2014 May and today it is 913 rupees. What are you even saying in 12 day in 12 years you have doubled the prices what did happen for the past 70 years you doubled the price in 12 years and you're speaking about this like data can be interpreted. 1 minute your time because now that's all the time that I have for Go ahead ma'am.

[00:52:26]>> Thank you.

[00:52:27]>> You know Prii let me uh remind and educate the Congress spokesperson Dhan Suro. Madam January 2014 Manohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi's kitchen cabinet was in power LPG 14.5 kg cylinder in Mumbai was 1,270 rupees in Kolkata it was 1,292 rupees in Delhi it was of this evening joining me Bhavia Narima Morti spokesperson Congress Sanjua continues to be with us from the BJPa your 2 minutes start now where we are is collateral we have no part to play uh this is all the ramifications coming in from West Asia. Why the politics over the fuel rise?

[00:53:09]>> Um you know where their public is involved, politics is obviously involved.

[00:53:16]Now when the crude oil prices were going down, you know, we're on a soft decline.

[00:53:21]The government could have given the benefits to the people of the state.

[00:53:26]They did not. Now that the crude price are high rising, the government is not able to act like a buffer at all. The inflation is projected to be 6%, and guess what? Look at the timing. Right after the five state elections, he increased the LPG price by like 1,000 rupees, almost 900 rupees, the commercial price and petrol price, diesel price, it it's only been increasing.

[00:53:52]So um let me tell you from 2014 to 2025 what is the increase in the petrol price? It was 71 rupees when the barrel each barrel costed