Inflation is pricking people, Centre will control it in time: Pradhan

Kanpur: Amid a sharp rise in the prices of petrol and diesel across the country, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has previously served as Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that Centre is concerned about the issue of inflation and assured that the government will control it in time.

"Inflation is pricking people. Everybody is concerned including the government. The Centre will control this inflation in time," said the minister while speaking to reporters in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur on Saturday.

Pradhan said that India India imports 80 per cent of petroleum products which has led to an increase in the prices. He further assured that the petroleum ministry will speak to OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries and said that the situation shall improve post talks.

"To fulfil our needs, India imports 80 per cent of petroleum products. In the last 2 years, the investment was supposed to take place in the petroleum sector for its production across the world but that did not happen. If new oil wells don't come up, the existing ones will get depleted. Due to this, the prices have increased. I believe that the petroleum ministry will speak to countries producing them at OPEC. The situation should improve," said the minister.

He further reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

Meanwhile, the prices of petrol and diesel increased for the fifth consecutive day. In Delhi, petrol prices touched Rs 109.34 a litre while diesel costs Rs 98.07 per litre. The petrol in retail cost stands at Rs 115.51 per litre whereas diesel costs Rs 106.23 per litre today in Mumbai, popularly known as the financial capital of India.