Govt hikes kerosene by Rs40 per litre, keeps petrol and diesel prices unchanged

The government has increased the price of kerosene oil by another Rs40 per litre and approved Rs23 billion price differential subsidy for payments to oil marketing companies (OMCs) to keep the prices of two other oil products — petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) — unchanged for the week ending March 20.

Otherwise, the petrol and HSD prices should have gone up by more than Rs49 and Rs75 per litre with effect from March 14.

With fresh price notification, Kerosene, commonly described as poor man’s fuel, has become the most expensive consumer product at Rs358 per litre and has seen the highest increase among all fuels since March 7.

The kerosene rate has now increased by about 12.6pc on March 14, bringing its cumulative increase to 90pc from Rs188.87 earlier this month.

In formal orders, the petroleum division of the energy ministry said that the prime minister had approved keeping the prices of HSD and MS unchanged, and that the government will pay the price differential of Rs75.05 per litre and Rs49.63 per litre on HSD and MS, respectively, to OMCs.

The estimated Price Differential Claims (PDC) of OMCs for the period from March 14, 2026, to March 20, 2026, i.e. Rs23bn would be paid by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

“In this regard Finance Division, has obtained approval of the Cabinet for the........

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