Petrol, Diesel prices to change daily across India from June 16 onwards

Public sector oil marketing companies will revise petrol and diesel prices across the country on a daily basis, Indian Oil said on Thursday. Currently, fuel prices are revised on a daily basis across the country, except five cities. The oil marketing companies had earlier implemented daily revision of petrol and diesel prices on a pilot basis in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Vishakhapatnam from May 1, 2017. In a statement, Indian Oil said: “After its successful implementation, public Sector oil marketing companies have now decided to start daily revision in retail selling price of petrol and diesel in the entire country with effect from 16th June, 2017.”

Daily price revisions of petrol and diesel will make the retail prices more reflective of the current market conditions, minimising the volatility in the fuel prices. “Further, it will lead to increased transparency in the system and enable smoother flow of products from refinery/depots to retail outlets,” said Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest fuel retailer. Many developed countries revise the prices of petrol and diesel on a daily basis.

Notably, IOC, HPCL and BPCL had previously conducted carried out a daily price revision pilot project in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Vishakhapatnam. The pilot project went into effect on May 1 and was “successful”, IOC said.
IOC added that the move will increase transparency in the system and will enable smoother flow of petrol and diesel from refinery/depots to pumps. “Many developed countries are already revising the prices of Petrol and Diesel on a daily basis,” IOC noted.
In its statement, the Indian Oil Corporation preempted possible criticism that the oil companies’ move would inconvenience consumers. IOC, HPCL and BPCL will adopt a variety of mediums to convey the day’s petrol and diesel price, the statement said.

This includes daily publishing of prices in newspapers, prominently displaying the day’s rate at petrol pumps and sending information on the latest prices via text messages and smartphone applications.

The information is also likely to be available on social media. For example, during the five-city pilot project of daily price revisions, the Indian Oil Corporation pinned a new tweet to its Twitter feed every day displaying information on the latest petrol price.