The Government of India on Thursday cut the excise duties in the prices for petrol and diesel as the people celebrated the Festival of Lights or Diwali across the country.
The government said the reduction was to boost consumption and keep inflation low, thus helping the poor and middle classes.
Prices were reduced by over five Indian Rupees (six U.S. cents) for petrol and 12 Indian Rupees (16 U.S. cents) for diesel.
Petrol will now cost nearly 104 Indian Rupees (around 1.39 U.S. dollars) and diesel will cost 86.70 Indian Rupees (1.16 U.S. dollars) in Delhi.
Over the past several weeks, fuel prices had been consistently on the rise, leading to resentment among the public and severe criticism of the federal government from the opposition political parties.
Diwali is one of the major festivals celebrated by various religious groups in India and lasts usually five days. (Xinhua/NAN)
