A massive 41 billion diesel fuel subsidy from the government

The government has taken a special step to alleviate the severe pressure faced by consumers and fuel distribution agents due to the rapid increase in fuel prices in the world market. Accordingly, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka revealed that it has been decided to provide a massive fuel subsidy of 41 billion rupees, subject to Cabinet approval.

Under this new program, a subsidy of 70 rupees will be provided for a liter of diesel. The primary objective of this government intervention is to prevent the burden of international price increases from being fully passed on to the general public.

The Minister further emphasized that due to the currently active price formula and the instability in the global market, fuel distribution companies in the country have had to face severe financial setbacks. According to the data submitted by these companies, they incur a loss of between 120 and 247 rupees when selling one liter of diesel. He also pointed out that the loss values for different companies vary, being 120, 135, 192, and 247 rupees per liter of diesel.

This total subsidy of 41 billion rupees approved by the government is planned to be released in phases over a period of three months, instead of being provided at once. According to this fund allocation method, 15 billion rupees have been allocated for the upcoming October, and 13.5 billion rupees for November. Additionally, 12.5 billion rupees are to be released under this subsidy package for December, the final month of the year.