EAM urges states to reduce ‘fuel prices’ for consumers

As unexpected increases in gasoline costs continue to be a source of concern for people, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has asked governments to work on measures that would alleviate people’s concerns about fuel prices. On Sunday, Jaishankar was addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, when he was asked about the gasoline pricing difficulties in India.

He asserted that India obtains the cheapest oil on the world market and that the federal government has already taken steps to cut gasoline prices. ‘ State governments must now take steps to make things easier for the people. It might come from Russia, but my responsibility is to safeguard my people from rising oil costs ‘, he added. Notably, Jaishankar is in Kerala for three days and is slated to meet with state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

Fuel price revision in India
While there hasn’t been a substantial increase in fuel prices in over a month, consumers are nonetheless concerned about the price of gasoline and diesel. Previously, on May 21, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in the central excise charge. Following this, fuel duty was reduced by Rs 8 per litre and diesel duty was reduced by Rs 6 per litre, resulting in a small decrease in petrol and diesel prices. However, as petrol prices in key Indian cities continue to hover around Rs 100 per litre, diesel prices have also remained at Rs 95 per litre.

EAM Jaishankar applauds India’s struggle against COVID-19.
On the other side, the External Affairs Minister praised India’s current COVID-19 immunisation campaign. He continued, ‘We are the country that has created its own vaccine.  We are one of the few nations with our own CoWIN app, which provides a digital certificate to everyone who vaccinates. Today’s India is capable of finding answers while confronted with obstacles’.

In addition, he claimed that India had managed to outperform other countries during the epidemic. ‘They questioned our vaccination at first, and our economy was in jeopardy. But we now have the confidence to prove them incorrect. In other nations, we are treated better. In comparison to the difficulties we encountered the previous two years, we are doing really well. Our international status is higher ‘, he explained.