Petrol, Diesel Price Today, 3 September 2022: Fuel cost steady; check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on 3 September 2022, keeping costs steady for more than three months now. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Petrol price in Delhi today stands at Rs 96.72 a litre as against Rs 105.41 a litre prior to the cut in excise duty, while diesel costs Rs 89.62 a litre as opposed to Rs 96.67. In Mumbai, one litre of petrol today costs Rs 106.31 against Rs 111.35 earlier while diesel retails at Rs 94.27 down from Rs 97.28 per litre earlier. The prices of petrol and diesel vary in each state depending upon several factors such as the local taxes, Value Added Tax (VAT), freight charges, etc. Since the central government excise duty cut, only two states have reduced VAT rates on auto fuels. Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July. Meghalaya was the last to revise the fuel rates when it increased VAT August 24, because of which petrol now costs Rs. 96.83 per litre in Shillong and diesel is now priced at Rs. 84.72 per litre. Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre Also Read: India’s GDP growth to slow down in coming two quarters; rate hikes, recession fears, inflation among headwinds Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.