No Hike in Petrol, Diesel Prices Since April 2022, Govt Assures Amid Crisis

Speaking during an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said fuel supplies across the country remain adequate despite global uncertainties.

"Petrol and diesel are adequately available at retail outlets. However, some instances of panic buying have been observed. I urge people not to believe rumours," she said.

She reiterated that there has been no increase in petrol and diesel prices since April 6, 2022. The government has taken multiple steps to maintain price stability.

She added, "In fact, the government has taken several steps to maintain price stability. Excise duty on petrol and diesel was reduced in 2022, prices were cut again in 2024, and on March 27, 2026, excise duty was reduced by Rs 10 once again. The objective has been to keep domestic prices stable despite rising global prices".

The official said that while imports from the West Asia region have been affected due to the crisis, efforts are being made to ensure minimal inconvenience to citizens.

On LPG supply, Sharma said domestic availability remains normal. More than 5.2 million households were supplied with LPG cylinders on Wednesday. Daily bookings have declined and are currently averaging around 44-45 lakh bookings per day. Around 94 per cent of deliveries are being carried out using the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC), helping curb diversion.

She added that commercial LPG supply has been restored to about 70 per cent, and more than 140,000 tonnes have been sold in April so far. This supply has mainly catered to restaurants, dhabas, hotels, and labour-intensive sectors such as steel, automobile, textile, chemicals, plastics, packaging, and agriculture. On a single day, around 8,403 tonnes of commercial LPG was sold.

Sales of 5 kg cylinders have also increased. Since April 3, more than 8,900 awareness camps have been organised by oil marketing companies, leading to the sale of around 127,000 5 kg cylinders. From April 1 to now, over 1.7 million 5 kg cylinders have been sold. On Wednesday alone, about 86,000 cylinders were sold, including 7,877 cylinders through around 320 camps.

On natural gas, the government continues to push PNG expansion. Since March, more than 518,000 PNG connections have been activated, while infrastructure for over 258,000 new connections has been developed, taking the combined number to around 776,000.

The government's measures come amid a sharp rise in global crude prices. The Indian crude basket, which averaged around USD 70 per barrel in FY 2025-26, rose to over USD 113 per barrel in March. Despite this, domestic LPG prices have remained stable, Sharma said.

- ANI