Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman assures fiscal vigil amid oil spike

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the government will step up efforts to mobilise additional resources and remain vigilant in managing the fiscal deficit, even as it shields consumers from a surge in crude oil prices.She ruled out any plan to impose a lockdown amid the West Asia conflict and urged political leaders to avoid spreading rumours and fear. “Going forward, we will continue to ramp up our efforts in mobilising additional non-tax revenues, and our government will remain on its toes to carefully manage the country’s fiscal position,” she said while replying to a discussion on the Finance Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The House later passed the Finance Bill by voice vote, returning it to the Lok Sabha and completing the budget process for the fiscal year beginning April 1.

Sitharaman said retail fuel prices have remained unchanged despite global crude prices rising from $70 to $122 a barrel within a month. “We are making sure that people of India don’t suffer,” she said, adding that the government’s broader strategy is to shield citizens while sustaining growth.

The government on Friday cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and reduced diesel duty to zero, while imposing export taxes on refiners to ensure domestic availability. The minister said the government is actively responding to the evolving situation and that Friday’s duty cuts are aimed at preventing the global price surge from feeding into domestic inflation and volatility. The duty cuts will lead to a revenue loss of about ₹7,000 crore, she said. Sitharaman said the move was necessary as oil marketing companies were incurring losses of about ₹24 per litre on petrol and ₹13 per litre on diesel.

New GDP series

On criticism of the new GDP series, Sitharaman said “these are routine exercises” and have been undertaken nine times since Independence. She said the new series, based on more than 300 data sources and 1,400 variables, integrates GST data, digital financial flows and labour surveys to improve accuracy and real-time tracking of economic activity.