Centre making efforts to takle increase in petrol, diesel prices: Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the Centre is making efforts to find long-term solutions to tackle the increase in petrol and diesel prices and suggested that India should move to "alternative" fuels.

The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways was addressing a press conference here to highlight the Modi government's achievements in the last four years.

The government is making efforts to find long-term solutions to tackle the fuel price hike issue, he said when asked about the soaring prices of petrol and diesel.

"We have already stopped the subsidy on petrol and diesel, and we are giving LPG connections to 8 crore people.

"We could give the LPG connections to so many people because we stopped the subsidy on petrol and diesel," Gadkari said.

Pitching for alternative fuel such as ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, bio-CNG and electric, to address the fuel price hike issue, he said, "India is importing petrol and diesel worth Rs 8 lakh crore and long-term efforts are being taken to bring the expenditure down."