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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Indian petrol price higher than neighbouring countries


Petrol in India is not just costlier than in the neighbouring countries Pakistan and Nepal, but its price has also seen higher increase since April last year.

Even after the November 16 reduction of Rs 2.22 per litre in rates, petrol at Rs 66.42 a litre in Delhi is costlier than Rs 48.64 a litre in Pakistan.

Whereas in Sri Lanka it is Rs 61.38 per litre and Rs 65.26 per litre in landlocked Nepal. Incidentally, Nepal does not have a refinery and imports all its requirement from India.

Giving this information in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh said petrol price in India has risen 39 per cent, or Rs 18.49 per litre, since April 2010.

Petrol in Delhi cost Rs 47.63 per litre last year. The hike in rates in Paksitan is lower at 26 per cent - from Rs 38.74 per litre to Rs 48.64 a litre. Sri Lanka has seen a 36 per cent increase from Rs 45.23 per litre in April 2010 to Rs 61.38 a litre at present.

In Nepal, petrol price when up from Rs 49.98 per litre to Rs 65.26 a litre currently, an increase of 31 per cent.

To another question, Singh said nearly 45 per cent of the current retail price of petrol in Delhi is made up of taxes.

The refinery price of petrol is just Rs 36.82 per litre, on top of which Rs 2.25 in inland freight and marketing cost and margin is added. Besides, Rs 14.78 per litre is the excise duty component and Rs 11.07 a litre is the sales tax that Delhi government charges. Another Rs 1.50 is the commission that petrol pump dealers earn.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Failed ATM transaction - Consmer court orders SBI to pay

The Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (consumer court) has directed the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 to a woman whose account was debited of Rs 5,000 despite a failed ATM transaction of the said amount.

On July 14, 2010, Nirmala Mahadeo Hande from Pimple Saudagar had tried to withdraw Rs 5,000 from SBI’s ATM at Narpatgir chowk in Somwar Peth. However, the first ATM machine failed to dispense money even after entering the PIN. She therefore cancelled the transaction and moved on to the second ATM machine next to the first one. She had withdrawn Rs 7,000 from that machine but the ATM receipt reflected a debit amount of Rs 12,000.

Hande immediately lodged written complaint in this regard with SBI’s main branch in Pune. After continuous follow-up, the Bank deposited Rs 5,000 in her account on August 7, 2010, but on September 28, 2010, the Bank froze the account citing that internal investigation by the Bank was pending. When Hande demanded to see the CCTV footage of the ATM centre, the Bank refused to show it to her. She later approached the consumer court against the bank.

After hearing both sides, the consumer court bench headed by its president Anjali Deshmukh and member S K Kapse in their order held SBI guilty of negligence and responsible for deficiency in service. “The SBI took over an year to conclude its investigation and the complainant was unable to use principal amount from July 14, 2010 to September 10,2011,” the order stated.