No plan to lift diesel price control in India yet

The Indian government does not have any immediate plan to lift control on diesel prices as it will further fuel inflationary pressures, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan said at the annual Economic Editors’ conference. The oil ministry said in a report that an increase in diesel prices will be staggered over time to minimize the overall impact on poor people. The government on June 25 raised prices of cooking fuels and diesel fuel and lifted state controls on gasoline prices to cut losses of state-run fuel retailers, such as Indian Oil Corp., which sell oil products at state-set prices to help the government control inflation. It had then said that diesel fuel prices will eventually be market determined. (October 27, 2010)