The centre's decision to announce a fuel price hike is a "balanced" and necessary measure, said Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, after the petrol and diesel prices were raised by Rs 3 per litre. The move was triggered by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Rijiju took to social media to defend the May 2026 fuel price hike, emphasising that while international crises have triggered runaway inflation elsewhere, India has stood apart. In a social media post, the minister highlighted that this is the first price adjustment in four years, noting that the increase was restricted even as global energy markets faced significant surges.
"As the world battled rising fuel costs after the West Asia conflict, India stood apart.
While several countries witnessed petrol & diesel hikes ranging from 20% to nearly 100%, India limited the increase to just +3.2% for petrol & +3.4% for diesel.
Even as Brent crude crossed $100/barrel & global markets turned volatile, India's public sector oil companies absorbed huge losses for weeks to protect citizens from inflation & economic pressure.
This is governance with responsibility.
This is leadership that puts people first.
Under Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, India continues to balance economic stability with public welfare," he posted.
According to the data shared by Kiren Rijiju, several countries experienced steep fuel price hikes, with Myanmar recording increases of +89.7% in petrol and +112.7% in diesel, while Malaysia saw petrol price rise of +56.3% and diesel hike of +71.2%. In contrast, India managed to limit the increase to just +3.2% for petrol and +3.4% for diesel, highlighting a comparatively stable fuel pricing trend.
Adding further industry context to the recent price adjustments, Arvind Kumar, Director (Refineries) at Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), has termed the fuel price hike as a "very small rise."
"There is a lot of pressure. But I can tell you that Indian Oil group companies and refineries are working round the clock at more than 100% capacity so that there will be no crisis and no dry-out at any of our retail outlets," he told news agency ANI.
The geopolitical tensions have severely disrupted global oil and gas supply chains, forcing energy rates upward as transit through the critical maritime chokepoint remains constrained.
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