In austerity drive, govt considering closing petrol pumps at 8 pm, says Petroleum Minister
From the middle of this month, says oil minister M Veerappa Moily, the government plans a massive six-week fuel conservation drive that could include closing all petrol pumps by 8 pm. The BJP has scoffed at the proposal. The government is seeking to trim its huge oil import bill as it struggles to rescue the rupee, which has tumbled alarmingly in the last few weeks, touching 68.85 to a dollar last week to register its steepest fall in 18 years. It opened at 66.15 on Monday, lower than it had closed on Friday.
