India to take a 'long-term' view on fuel pricing - law minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India wants to take a long-term view on pump prices of petrol and diesel to shield consumers from the volatility in global markets, the country's law minister said on Wednesday, indicating the government could change its fuel pricing mechanism.

Prices of diesel and petrol in India have surged to a record high. A liter of petrol costs 77.17 rupees ($1.13) while diesel is sold at 68.34 rupees/liter.

"The government is keen that instead of having an ad hoc measure it may be desirable to have a long-term view which addresses not only the volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs," Ravi Shankar Prasad told a news conference.

Opposition leaders have criticised the government for failing to rein in rising fuel prices, a politically-sensitive issue in one of the world's biggest economies.

($1 = 68.3650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sunil Nair)