Due to the West Asia war where the energy crisis has deepened at the global level. From Pakistan to Bangladesh, severe fuel shortage has led to lockdown and blackout-like situations. However, there is news of great relief for Indian consumers. To save the common man from the blow of expensive crude oil, the government has made a big cut in the excise duty (excise duty) on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per liter, so that the oil companies cannot increase the prices at the pump. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this on Friday. During this, the Finance Minister also completely rejected the rumor of any kind of lockdown in the country.
Misrepresentations are being made only to spread fear: Finance Minister
Responding to the discussion on Finance Bill 2026 in the Rajya Sabha on Friday (March 27), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “The fears of a lockdown in the country due to war are just rumors being spread to spread fear.” He appealed to the politicians not to spread such rumours. The Finance Minister said, “To ensure that the burden of rising global crude oil does not fall on the common man, the government has reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 each, so that oil marketing companies do not increase prices at the pump. While many countries have drastically increased the prices of motor fuel by 20 to 50 percent, India has kept its rates unchanged.”
Energy crisis deepens in neighboring countries, we are safe
The Finance Minister compared the stability of the Indian economy with the dire conditions of neighboring countries.
- Poor condition of Pakistan: In Pakistan, the prices of petrol and diesel have been increased by 20% overnight and the prices of high-octane fuel have been increased by 200%, due to which petrol is being sold at 321 Pakistani rupees per liter. To save fuel, a ‘smart lockdown’ has been imposed in Sindh province, movement of people is restricted and schools have been closed for two weeks. A 4-day working week has been implemented in government offices and 50% of the staff in private offices has been sent to work-from-home. Markets and malls are being closed at 9:30 pm.
- Blackout in Bangladesh: Due to the power crisis, there are rotational power cuts of five hours each for domestic consumers in Dhaka and all universities have been closed and education has been shifted online. Due to shortage of octane and diesel, petrol pumps are closed and the supply has been reduced by 10 to 15 percent.
The Finance Minister stressed that neither of these two countries has cut taxes like India has.
Government is being cautious in fiscal management
Amidst this global turmoil, the government is also completely alert on the fiscal front. The Finance Minister assured that the government will be ready to keep the fiscal deficit under control and will intensify efforts to raise non-tax revenue. After this discussion, Rajya Sabha returned the Finance Bill to the Lok Sabha by voice vote, with which the budgetary process for the next financial year starting from April 1 has been completed.