New Delhi: State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC.BO) is making a daily revenue loss of 1.59 billion rupees ($35 million) for selling diesel and cooking fuels at government-fixed cheaper rates, the company said.
In June last year, India freed state-run fuel retailers to fix petrol prices but continued to have control on prices of diesel and cooking fuels to tame inflation and protect the poor.
IOC, India's largest refiner and fuel retailer, raised petrol prices by 2.50 rupees a litre from Sunday versus a desired hike of 3.72 rupees, IOC said in a statement issued late on Sunday.
The company is expected to suffer a gross revenue loss of 406 billion rupees in the current fiscal ending March 31 on sale of fuel at cheaper rates, it said.
India partly compensate state retailers for revenue losses through cash subsidy, while upstream firms Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Oil India and GAIL (India) offer discount on sale of crude oil and products.
Explorer ONGC on Monday said its net realisation from crude oil sales decline with rising global crude oil prices as it had to offer higher discount to state refiners.
"Consumer, service provider and the industry want stability so that fluctuating crude prices do not play spoilsport in energy planning," ONGC Chairman R.S. Sharma said in a statement.
($1 = 45.5 rupees)