To revive the economy of Delhi, the Kejriwal government has decided to slash the VAT charged on diesel. The Delhi cabinet chaired by the chief minister has decided to reduce VAT on diesel from 30% to 16.75%. This will reduce price of diesel in Delhi from Rs 82 to Rs 73.64, which is by Rs 8.36 per litre
CM Kejriwal said, «The twocrore people of Delhi have brought corona under control. However, we need to ensure social distancing and wear masks, because if we become complacent, corona might spike again. We now need to focus on how we can revive the economy of Delhi because many people have been affected due to shutting down of businesses and industries. People of Delhi have accepted big challenges in the past and have overcome them. We will accept and win this economic challenge as well. Our main challenge now is to get the economy back on track. Many businesses are shut, industries are shut. This decision to lower VAT is an important step towards reviving the economy. We were getting representations from trade bodies that the high price of diesel was a source of difficulty.”
“An important decision has been taken in the cabinet meeting which I think will be an important step in taking Delhi›s economy forward. Diesel prices were very high in Delhi. Diesel is Rs 82 per litre in Delhi, now the cabinet has decided that the price of diesel will be reduced. VAT on it was 30 per cent which will be reduced to 16. 75%. This will reduce the price of diesel in Delhi by 8.36 Rs. The diesel which was at Rs 82 per litre will now be available for Rs 73.64. Demand was coming from all the traders that due to the high price of diesel people are suffering. I think that this decision will help the economy of Delhi to boost up further,” the CM added
The prices of petrol and diesel prices have zoomed up across the country. The situation is such that for the first time, the price of diesel is more than that of petrol at several places including Delhi. In the midst of the lockdown, the Kejriwal government had increased VAT on diesel to 30 per cent, which had led to a sudden huge increase in the price of diesel in Delhi, but now its impact was also on the economy.
In an effort to boost the economy of Delhi, in the past week the Delhi government has taken major steps. It allowed the street-side vendors to resume their work. The CM further said that the job portal opened by his government has received a positive response in the past few days as around 3.22 lakh people have registered on the portal. Kejriwal said, “We are receiving a good response on the job portal that was announced just a few days back. Around 7,577 companies have registered, 2,04,785 jobs have been advertised and 3,22,865 people have applied for jobs on it.”