Dharmendra Pradhan's Chakravyuha

Cutting taxes on petrol and diesel will hit the fisc, but long-term solutions would be to extend GST to them and introduce cost-plus pricing for oil firms

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is under intense political pressure. He is being asked to reduce retail prices of petrol and diesel, which have now risen to levels that prevailed a little more than three years ago, when the monthly average price of the Indian basket of crude oil was almost double of what it is today.

Pradhan has resisted all such pressure, arguing that he can’t interfere in the fixing of retail prices, which are now linked to the market. Equally comforting is Pradhan’s determination to use the opportunity to ask for the inclusion of petrol and diesel in the