Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh Sunday appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for reducing the excise duties on petrol and diesel.
The ‘bold decision’ of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to reduce central excise taxes on petrol and diesel by Rs 8 and Rs 6 per litre respectively will definitely help the common people of India,” said Biren in a video message, who is now stationed in the national capital, adding that this will also help reduce inflation which has affected the masses.
Further, the Chief Minister said, the reduction in prices of gas cylinders for Ujjwala Yojan beneficiaries will definitely ease the life of common people.
Under pressure, the Central government Saturday cut excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6 per litre to give relief to consumers battering under high fuel prices that has also pushed inflation to a multi-year high.
The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
Announcing the duty cut through tweets, Finance Minister Sitharaman also said the government will give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.
A 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,003 in the national capital. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, the poor women who get free connections, will get Rs 200 subsidy directly in their bank accounts and the effective price for them would be Rs 803 per 14.3-kg cylinder.
