Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a host of measures to provide relief to the people from rising inflation that included slashing of central duties on petrol by ₹8 a litre and diesel by ₹6, giving ₹200 per cylinder cooking gas subsidy to 90 million poor households, reducing customs duty on plastic products, iron and steel, and taking measures to ensure availability of cement in adequate quantity.
The sharp reduction of central levies on auto fuels, the second in six months, will become effective from Sunday. Experts said the government declared a war on inflation through the measures announced on Saturday.
“This will reduce the price of petrol by ₹9.5 per litre and of diesel by ₹7 per litre. It will have revenue implication of around ₹1 lakh crore per year for the government,” the Union finance minister said in a tweet.
