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New Delhi: The Indian government raised fuel prices on Wednesday by 10 per cent, the biggest increase in recent times.
Following a meeting of cabinet ministers to discuss the hike, India decided on increasing petrol prices by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs3.
The government also raised cooking gas prices by 17 per cent for the first time since 2002.
The import duty on crude oil has also bee cut in order to back the national refining and retailing companies.
The rise in prices will likely see much political backlash stemming from increased inflation.
However, Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said the increase in fuel prices would raise inflation by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points.
Escalating global oil prices have forced the sub-continental country to take this decision.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said that prices would have risen by 50 per cent if they were reflective of the global rate.
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