Pradhan speaks to US Energy Secretary on slump in fuel demand due to Covid-19

India's petrol sales have fallen 15.5 per cent in March, while diesel sale has slumped 24.2 per cent

Dharmendra Pradhan bats for inclusion of natural gas in GST ambit

Crude oil, petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) or jet fuel and natural gas are not included in GST.

Pradhan's comment comes after Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that only electric cars would be produced in India after 2030.

India, which imports about 80 percent of its oil needs, has emerged as a key driver of growth in global oil demand.

Currently, there is a wide disparity in the price of petroleum products due to different taxes in the states.

Petrol price rose by Rs 7.8 since early July to reach over three-year high of Rs 70.88 a litre in Delhi.

He also went on to say that states are the ultimate beneficiaries of tax collection on petrol and diesel.

As of now, petrol prices contain other elements like Centre-imposed excise duty, state-imposed VAT and dealer's commission.

It has been noted that ever since rollout of dynamic pricing system, prices of petrol rose by as much as Rs. 4.92-7.21 per litre.

Pradhan said global oil refining capacity has dropped by 13 per cent due to Irma and Harvey.