Petrol Price Up by Rs 5, LPG by Rs 50

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5 and 3 a litre and that of LPG by Rs 50 a cylinder, while sparing poor man's cooking medium kerosene from any increase. ( Watch )

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a slew of measures to offset the surging global oil prices that had put the national oil companies under acute pressure. The increase in prices would be effective from Wednesday midnight, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

The price hike would help oil companies to earn Rs 21,123 crore more.

As part of measures, the government decided to take a burden of Rs 94,601 crore for which it will issue oil bonds to state-run BPCL, HPCL and IOC which were reporting a daily loss of over Rs 720 crore.

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Inflation hits new high, worries Chidambaram

New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) With India's wholesale inflation, the weekly measure of price trends, rising to 7.83 percent for the week ended May 3, the government may take more steps to control prices.

The weekly measure of price trends rose to a three-and-a-half-year high of 7.83 percent for the week ended May 3, up from 7.61 percent in the week preceding it.

'These are difficult times. The movement from 7.61 percent to 7.83 percent is indeed worrisome ... It's a matter of concern and we reserve the right to take more administrative measures,' Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event here.

'Our expectation is that inflation will moderate. We are still waiting for the steel and cement price reduction to come into force ... Even behind the dark clouds there is a silver lining,' he added, urging patience.

The index for food products under the manufactured products list rose by 0.7 percent due to higher prices of khandsari, oil cakes, coconut oil and flour. However, prices of jaggery, rice bran oil, rape and mustard oil, cottonseed oil and others declined. The index comprising fuel, power, light and lubricants also rose by 0.8 percent, data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed Friday.

The annual rate of inflation had stood at 5.74 percent in the corresponding week a year ago.

Source: Sulekha News

7.6% Inflation, but Onions for Re 1 in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Price rise? What price rise? Inflation may have hit 7.61%, but in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan you can pick up a kilo of onion for as little as Re 1.

The reason: there was a bumper crop of onion this year and the farmers there have no storage facility.

The worst-affected districts include Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu where onion prices in wholesale markets have hit rock-bottom. Not a single cold-storage facility is vailable in the three districts. Ironically, chief minister Vasundhara Raje had on several occasions assured the farmers of the region that they would be provided exclusive onion storage facilities.


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