NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- People in India got some respite from overall inflation on Sunday after the federal government announced a cut in fuel prices.
"Reduction of Central Excise Duty on petrol and diesel. Central excise duty has been reduced by 8 Indian Rupees (around 10 U.S. cents) per liter for petrol and by 6 Indian Rupees (around seven U.S. cents) per liter for diesel (by reducing Road and Infrastructure Cess)," tweeted the country's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday night.
With the reduced excise tax, petrol will now cost 95.91 Indian Rupees (around 1.23 dollars) per liter while diesel will cost 89.67 Indian Rupees (around 1.15 dollars) per liter in Delhi.
New fuel prices were implemented with effect from Sunday.
Besides, the federal government also announced a subsidy of 200 Indian Rupees (around 2.57 dollars) per cylinder of cooking gas, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas, to nearly 90 million beneficiaries of a government-sponsored scheme for 12 cylinders in a year, in a bid to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.
"This will help our mothers and sisters," said Sitharaman.
Overall inflation, particularly the rise in prices of essential items like vegetables and other daily use groceries, has been on the rise in India for the past few months. As per the latest figures, the rate of Consumer Price Index, or retail inflation, stood at 7.79 percent in April.
Experts have opined that the inflation is feared to rise in the country during the rest of the year. ■