Before the Lok Sabha elections, petrol and diesel may become cheaper by Rs 10. The reason for this is the fall in crude oil prices. According to media reports, official sources related to this matter said that the reduction can be done in February.
In fact, the price of crude oil has fallen by 12% in a year, but oil marketing companies have not reduced the prices during this period. Oil marketing companies last reduced the prices of petrol and diesel in April 2022. Currently, in most parts of the country, petrol remains above Rs 100 and diesel above Rs 90 per liter.
These companies are currently earning around Rs 10 per litre. So far in the financial year 2023-24, the profits of Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have increased by about 5 times.
IOCL, BPCL and HPCL had made a profit of Rs 33,000 crore in the financial year 2022-23. In this financial year (2023-24), this profit is estimated to exceed Rs 1 lakh crore. That means an increase of 3 times can be seen in it. As of Q2 FY24, the combined turnover of the three companies stood at Rs 57,091.87 crore, which was Rs 1,137.89 crore in FY 2022-23, i.e. an increase of 4,917% (5 times) so far.
According to experts, oil marketing companies are currently earning around Rs 10 per liter on petrol and diesel. From this perspective, they have enough scope to reduce their prices. By doing this the economy will benefit.
The base price of petrol and diesel in our country is currently around Rs 57. But the central and state governments impose tax on it and bring it to Rs 100. The central government is charging excise duty of Rs 19.90 on this. After this, the state governments collect VAT and cess on it as per their own, after which their price increases up to 2 times the base price.
