Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 21 announced a sharp cut in central excise duty on fuel prices amid rising inflation.
In a series of tweets, the union minister claimed that the Central Government has always kept its citizens, particularly the common man and the poor as their number one priority.
“We are reducing the Central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of diesel by Rs 7 per litre. It will have a revenue implication of around ₹1 lakh crore/year for the government,” she said in the tweet.
Blaming the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, the finance minister said that despite all the hardships, the Central government “set a paradigm of welfare, especially with PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana”, which is “acknowledged and appreciated around the world.”
In her tweets, she also claimed that despite the price hike in fertilizers the Narendra Modi-led government “protected its farmers.”
She further stated that the government will be providing a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over 9 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in order to “help our mothers and sisters.”
“This will have a revenue implication of around ₹ 6100 crores a year,” she said in the tweet.
The Union finance minister also announced that import duty on raw materials and intermediaries for iron and steel will be reduced while export duty on some steel will be levied.
She also urged all state governments to implement a similar cut and give “relief to the common man.”
This post was last modified on May 21, 2022 8:13 pm