India finally succumbed to international pressure as all transport fuel prices in the country are set to be hiked after Cabinet approved it on Wednesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs is understood to have approved a hike of Rs 3 per litre in petrol prices, while the diesel prices are likely to head north by Rs 2 per litre.
However, a formal announcement in this regard will be made sometime around noon.
Announcing this a senior official in the Petroleum Ministry said, “Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the price hike. The quantum of the hike will be communicated to you shortly,"
"The prime minister is also expected to explain to the nation why the price hike was inevitable. Oil marketing companies have been bleeding since the cost of oil has gone up but the retail prices of petrol and diesel had remained the same," he added.
The CCPA meet came in the wake of the relentless rise in international crude oil prices, which have touched levels as high as USD 135 per barrel.
The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was also attended by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Road Transport Minister T R Baalu.
A limit is also expected to be set on the number of cooking gas cylinders that would be available to each household at subsidised rates, sources said.
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