The Union government on Tuesday freed the sale of market-priced kerosene from regulatory control to ease its availability and check black-marketing of the fuel sold through the public distribution system (PDS).
The government amended the Kerosene (Restriction on Use and Fixation of Ceiling Price) Order, 1993, deregulating storage, transportation and sale of non-PDS kerosene. Subsidised kerosene sold through the PDS is blue in colour, while the market-priced fuel is colourless. While PDS kerosene costs Rs. 15.14 a litre, the market-priced fuel comes for Rs. 27.68 a litre.
It is expected that the move will reduce the demand for diverted PDS kerosene, an official statement said.
The latest move is in sync with the government’s effort to decontrol fuel prices gradually. The administered price mechanism for petrol and diesel has already been lifted.
