India keeps domestic fuel prices stable despite rise in global crude market : Govt

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday said India has successfully maintained stable domestic fuel prices despite sharp increases and volatility in global crude oil prices due to West Asia conflict.

The Indian crude oil basket has nearly doubled — rising from around $63 per barrel in January to $113 per barrel in March and averaging $116 per barrel in April so far, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

"If you see, in January, our Indian crude basket was around $63 per barrel. Which increased to $113 per barrel in March and in April, the average is around $116 per barrel,” said Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

"Despite sharp increases and volatility in global prices, India has managed to keep domestic fuel prices comparatively lower than those of its neighbours. Our prices among neighbouring countries are among the lowest,” she added.

She also said the government is fast-tracking the transition from LPG to piped natural gas, a more reliable alternative less affected by the West Asia disruptions.More than 5.01 lakh new PNG connections have been gasified since March.

Over 5.68 lakh consumers have registered for fresh connections. Till April 19, about 39,400 PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections, she said.

Domestic LPG supply remains stable with no dry-outs reported at any distributorship. Online bookings have risen to 98 per cent across the industry.

Delivery authentication code-based supplies have increased to 92 per cent to curb diversion.

Commercial LPG availability has been restored to around 70 per cent of pre-crisis levels.

The government has doubled daily supplies of 5-kg LPG cylinders for migrant workers. Since late March, over 19.2 lakh such cylinders have been sold through nationwide campaigns.