New Delhi: The government has taken various measures to reduce the dependency on imported crude oil and to promote domestic production of oil and gas, the Parliament was informed on Monday. 

Various steps have been taken by government and public sector undertakings (PSUs) oil marketing companies (OMCs) to address issues related to fuel pricing, the impact of global crude oil prices, and to mitigate the burden on consumers, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The reduction of central excise duty by the Central government by a total of Rs 13 per litre and Rs 16 per litre on petrol and diesel, respectively, in two tranches in November 2021 and May 2022, which was fully passed on to consumers.

Some state governments also reduced VAT rates to provide relief to citizens. In March 2024, OMCs also reduced the retail prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each, across the country, the minister said. 

The government also insulated common citizens from high international prices by diversifying the crude import basket, invoking the provisions of Universal Service Obligation to ensure availability of petrol and diesel in domestic market and increasing the blending of ethanol in petrol, etc.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, stated recently that India is considering raising its goal to blend ethanol with gasoline to more than 20 per cent. Also, intra-state freight rationalisation by PSU OMCs has benefitted consumers located in remote areas within the states. This initiative has also reduced the difference between the maximum and minimum retail prices of petrol or diesel within a state.

The subsidised domestic LPG cylinder is made available to more than 10.33 crore PM Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, across the country. A few state governments are also providing some additional subsidies on LPG refills and bearing the additional cost from their respective budgets.

Oil and Gas PSUs have already announced their target dates for Net Zero status and developed plans for the same. The government has also notified the “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan – Vatavaran Anukool Fasal Awashesh Nivaran) Yojana”, to provide financial support for integrated bio-ethanol projects aimed at setting up advanced Biofuel projects in the country using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.