New Delhi : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday that the government has decided to reduce the Central excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre.

This will reduce the price of petrol by Rs 9.5 per litre and of diesel by Rs 7 per litre, noted the Finance Minister.

“I wish to exhort all state governments, especially the states where reduction wasn’t done during the last round (November 2021), to also implement a similar cut and give relief to the common man,” added Sitharaman.

Sitharaman further added that this year, the government will give a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to over 9 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

The Centre is also reducing the customs duty on raw materials & intermediaries for plastic products where our import dependence is high, she explained. “This will result in reduction of cost of final products,” wrote Sitharaman on Twitter.

The Finance Minister further explained that the government is “calibrating customs duty on raw materials & intermediaries for iron & steel to reduce their prices.” She stated that import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced and export duty on some steel products will be levied.

Sitharaman also conveyed that measures are being taken up to “improve the availability of cement and through better logistics to reduce the cost of cement.”

Sitharaman explained that these announcements have been made keeping in line with the government’s commitment to helping the poor and the needy. She also added that despite the challenging international situation, the government has ensured that there are no shortages or scarcities of essential goods.

“Despite rising fertilizer prices globally, we have protected our farmers from such price hikes. In addition to the fertilizer subsidy of Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the budget, an additional amount of Rs 1.10 lakh crore is being provided to further cushion our farmers,” wrote Sitharaman.

She added that the government is committed to ensuring that prices of essential items are kept under control.