Petrol and diesel price August 18: Fuel cost unchanged; Check prices in Delhi, Mumbai, other cities here Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been left unchanged for the 89th day by OMCs on August 18. The most recent price reduction had come in Maharashtra when the state government announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel earlier last month. The cut in VAT is likely to cost Maharashtra’s state exchequer Rs 6,000 crore on an annual basis. For the rest of the country, prices have been steady since May 21 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 will cost 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. 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. On August 2, the government cut tax on diesel export to Rs 5 per litre and scrapped tax on ATF. However, it raised the additional excise duty (cess) on petroleum crude marginally from Rs 17,000 to Rs 17,750 per tonne. Tax on petrol export was removed earlier last month. 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: Goldman Sachs sees India bonds getting added to JPMorgan Index with an initial 10% weightage Crude Oil price Crude oil prices slipped on Thursday after having risen in the previous session Crude oil prices had hit 6-month lows earlier in the week. The fall in price came amid fears of global recession. Brent crude futures were down 33 cents to trade at $93.32 a barrel. WTI Crude was at $87.71 a barrel, falling 40 cents, according to Reuters.
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.