Govt raises diesel prices by 5 rupees/litre

INDIA-DIESEL-LPG-KEROSENE-PETROL:Govt raises diesel prices by 5 rupees/litre

The government raised the price of heavily subsidised diesel on Thursday, in a politically risky move to rein in the fiscal deficit and fight the threat of being the first in the BRICS group of emerging economies to be downgraded to junk.

A cabinet committee agreed to raise diesel prices by 12 percent, or 5 rupees per litre, and restricted sales of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per consumer annually, the government said in a statement. It left petrol and kerosene prices unchanged.

The measures are effective from Friday.