Petrol and diesel are deregulated in India, which means they are linked to market rates
Highlights
- Dealers withdrew their call for closure of fuel stations on June 16
- Government reached an agreement with petrol pump owners over issues
- State-run oil retailers started revising rates in five cities from May 1
Petrol and diesel prices are set for daily price revisions beginning June 16, with the government reaching an agreement with petrol pump owners over issues raised by them. From Friday, the price consumers have to shell out for purchasing petrol and diesel will be updated every day at 6 am, instead of midnight. The move is aimed at ensuring passing down of the benefit of a change in global oil prices to the dealers and the end-users. State-run oil retailers - which account for more than 90 per cent of the retail fuel market in the country - are revising the rates in five cities since May 1. Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum have agreed to extend the programme of daily price revisions in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Vizag to the rest of the country.
Here are 10 things to know on daily petrol and diesel price revisions:
1. Petroleum dealers on Wednesday withdrew their call for closure of fuel stations on June 16. They had planned a "no sale no purchase" move for June 16 in protest against the daily revisions. The dealers had sought for a change in timing of price revision under the new regime so that they don't have to deploy additional manpower at midnight for price revision.
2. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who met with dealers' associations on Wednesday, said "some practical difficulties" were addressed in his meeting with heads of three such associations. Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT) President Ashok Badhwar said they were withdrawing their call for the protest closure of fuel stations because the government had taken the decision of daily price revision in public interest.
3. Daily prices will be displayed across petrol pumps or refueling stations.
4. Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest fuel retailer, has stepped up efforts towards seamless daily revisions. That includes LED screens at petrol pumps, a toll-free number, social media posts, price revision app alerts and SMSes. Additionally, Indian Oil said, every petrol pump will have its dealer's code prominently displayed allowing consumers to verify the prices through SMS.
5. Prices will also be communicated to dealers by four modes: customised SMSes, e-mails, mobile app and web portal for dealers. "These means of communication are also available to dealers of automated petrol pumps," Indian Oil has said.
6. Apart from reducing volatility, the shift to daily price revisions will ensure that there is no sudden increase or decrease in domestic selling prices, Indian Oil said. "The daily price revision is an initiative for ensuring the best possible prices to the customers as well as improved transparency in the pricing mechanism."
7. How to check prices: Consumers can get daily rates though the Indian Oil website, the retailer's app - called "Fuel@IOC" or through SMS. Customers may cross-check the prices by sending an SMS in format 'RSP< SPACE >DEALER CODE' to 9224992249.
8. Petrol and diesel are deregulated in India, which means they are linked to market rates.
9. The move to adapt daily price revisions is in a shift from the existing practice of semi-monthly revisions.
10. At present, the three PSU oil marketing companies revise the prices every fortnight, aligning them with international crude oil and forex exchange rates.