Livemint | India contained fuel price rise, developed nations saw a jump: Govt

Sep 10,2022

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that the rise in fuel prices in India has been contained in comparison to exponential increase in developed countries. He said that the most developed nations have witnessed almost 40% rise in fuel prices from July 2021 to August 2022.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has inked contracts for 31 Discovered Small Fields (DSF) blocks under DSF bid round-III and four CBM blocks under CBM bid round V awarded to 14 exploration and production domestic companies, according to the news agency ANI. 

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also attended the event and unveiled the logo for India Energy Week (IEW) 2023. The ministry's flagship event will take place from February 6-8, 2023 in Bengaluru.

Addressing the event, the minister highlighted that India has demonstrated great resilience during global energy crisis and the government has taken various measures to mitigate the volatility of global crude oil and gas prices.

“Fuel price rise in India has been contained in comparison to exponential rise in developed countries. Most developed nations have witnessed significant rise in fuel price by almost 40% from July'21 to August’22 and in India, fuel price has reduced by 2.12%," Puri said. 

He further said, “The gas price of all major trading hubs has seen massive increase during July'21 to August’22. Henry Hub of USA saw an increase by 140%. JKM Marker by 257% and UK, NBP by 281% and in India CNG and PNG prices increased by only 71%."

Speaking about LPG prices, he said that Saudi CP price (India's important benchmark) has almost increased by 303% in the past 24 months, while the LPG price in India (Delhi) increased by less than a tenth of that figure by only 28% during the same time period.

The minister said that India’s move towards a “gas-based economy" by connecting the consumers through the City Gas Distribution, enhancing regasification capacities, expanding pipeline networks and setting up CNG stations.

He also hailed the Centre's social welfare schemes like the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojna and its role in ending energy poverty, ensuring social upliftment and as a catalyst of social change cannot be emphasized enough.