GOOD NEWS AT LAST: GOVT CUTS PETROL, DIESEL PRICES BY RS 2.5 ACROSS COUNTRY

In what comes across as a major relief for consumers, the government announced a relief of Rs 2.50 on petrol and diesel on Thursday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Centre will cut Rs 1.50 in excise duty on fuel while an additional Re 1 will be absorbed by the Oil Marketing Companies.
 

In addition, Jaitley urged the state governments to cut the VAT on fuel by an equal amount so that consumers may get the benefit of a discount of Rs 5, which some states had already done.

The move is expected to have an impact of Rs 10,500 crore this fiscal but the government is confident of achieving the fiscal deficit target, according to an article in the Economic Times. 

(Representative image)