Prices must come down

 After much dilly- dallying, the Modi government finally cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 and on diesel by Rs 10 on November 3, just ahead of Diwali. The duty cut will lead to a revenue loss of Rs 45,000 crore, or 0.2 per cent of the GDP, for the Centre in the remaining months of 2021-22. It is a welcome move that fuel prices have been decreased on the occasion of Diwali. Fuel prices should be reduced further and the state government should also reduce VAT. Though the fuel prices are still high but at least there has been a decrease. The decrease was more than the reduction announced by the Centre due to the cascading effect of reduction of central duty on VAT. Other NDA-ruled states also decided to cut VAT such as Nagaland where the reduction was Rs.7 for both petrol and diesel. The decision of the state government to reduce VAT means that petrol which cost Rs.109.13 a litre pre-November 3 is now sold at Rs. 98.05 per litre. Diesel which used to be sold at Rs.101.50 pre-November 3 is now sold at Rs.84.59 per litre. The reduction of price per litre–Rs.12 for petrol and Rs.17 for diesel is indeed very substantial.For the general public, the move by the Centre which triggered the cut in prices across all states, though some have yet to take a decision, is most welcome. Public expect that the cut in prices would also include even aviation fuel. If the prices of all fuels are reduced then it would make travel cheaper. For the carriage transporters, the cuts should elicit a positive response. The transporters and carriers have protested several times during the past years against continual rise in government excise duties. Now that the excise duty has been cut and state governments also doing their part in reducing VAT on fuel, it is only but right to expect the transporters and carriers to do what they ought to do. Experts said that the reduction would not immediately impact the price rise that several essential commodities have seen in the recent months. Unfortunately, things don’t happen they way they are expected to. Economists explained that the decrease in prices of essential commodities was unlikely. They said that in practice that has been on for decades, once manufacturers or traders increase the price of commodities is it very difficult to reduce them unless the government comes down heavily on them. In Dimapur, price of one bag of cement(50kgs) sold at Rs.470 (October) has shot up to Rs.485 in November. The traders have been increasing the prices with the rise in fuel prices. Now they are to deliver and do what they promised to do. The public should now study whether the transporters and traders whether they are implementing the corresponding cut in rates of carriage and commodities. If not, then the public and the opposition parties, should pressurise the government to come down heavily against those who continue to fleece people and punish them as per the law of the land.