Congress-ruled Punjab reduces petrol price by ₹10, diesel by ₹5

Ahead of Assembly elections in the state in 2022, the Punjab government on Sunday announced a cut in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 and Rs 5 respectively.

Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the reduced prices, owing to decrease in the value added tax levied on diesel and petrol, will come into effect from Monday, 12 am.

Channi announced the move, which is set to cost Punjab exchequer Rs 1000 crore annually, after a Punjab Cabinet meeting.

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The chief minister said such a measure has not been taken in 70 years, adding that petrol in Punjab has become the cheapest in the region and as compared to Delhi, petrol in Punjab is now Rs 9 less.

As fuel prices continued to rise, the Centre has last week announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and Rs 10 a litre on diesel.