<p class="title">The government is working on a holistic solution to price volatility of petrol without reversing reforms, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The government will take a holistic view (of the situation) so that petrol prices do not pinch. The government will do all that is possible," he said at a news conference to highlight the government's achievement in four years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Blaming geopolitics of oil, exchange rate fluctuations and local taxes for petrol and diesel prices touching a record high, he said the government is sensitive and will ensure that "poor, the middle class are not pained."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked if the solutions under consideration include a partial rollback of fuel price deregulation, he said, "Not at all."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This question doesn't arise. This government is a pro-reform government and we cannot go back on what we have reformed," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government had deregulated or freed petrol pricing from its control in June 2010 and diesel in October 2014. It allowed revision of prices on a daily basis since mid-June last year to reflect changes in cost instantly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We will not allow prices to go out of reach of the common man," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pradhan refused to say if the solutions proposed include asking oil producers like ONGC cough-up some money so that fuel can be subsidised, like it used to do till 2015. "I cannot discuss the solutions being considered," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the minister parried questions on Centre cutting excise duty as a relief to the common man.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said taxes on petrol and diesel are made up of excise duty charged by the Centre, and Sales Tax (VAT) charged by state governments.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The taxes levied by states should be "reasonable and responsible," he said refusing to be drawn into the debate on most BJP states refusing to cut VAT.</p>
<p class="title">The government is working on a holistic solution to price volatility of petrol without reversing reforms, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The government will take a holistic view (of the situation) so that petrol prices do not pinch. The government will do all that is possible," he said at a news conference to highlight the government's achievement in four years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Blaming geopolitics of oil, exchange rate fluctuations and local taxes for petrol and diesel prices touching a record high, he said the government is sensitive and will ensure that "poor, the middle class are not pained."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Asked if the solutions under consideration include a partial rollback of fuel price deregulation, he said, "Not at all."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This question doesn't arise. This government is a pro-reform government and we cannot go back on what we have reformed," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government had deregulated or freed petrol pricing from its control in June 2010 and diesel in October 2014. It allowed revision of prices on a daily basis since mid-June last year to reflect changes in cost instantly.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We will not allow prices to go out of reach of the common man," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Pradhan refused to say if the solutions proposed include asking oil producers like ONGC cough-up some money so that fuel can be subsidised, like it used to do till 2015. "I cannot discuss the solutions being considered," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the minister parried questions on Centre cutting excise duty as a relief to the common man.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said taxes on petrol and diesel are made up of excise duty charged by the Centre, and Sales Tax (VAT) charged by state governments.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The taxes levied by states should be "reasonable and responsible," he said refusing to be drawn into the debate on most BJP states refusing to cut VAT.</p>