In the third increase this month, the government on Saturday hiked excise duty on petrol by Re 1 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre, reported PTI. The hike will be adjusted against the slide in international oil prices, and will not affect the retail selling prices of the two fuels. The increase is expected to help the government raise revenue and stick to its fiscal deficit target for this financial year.

A Central Board of Excise and Customs notification said the basic excise duty on unbranded petrol has been increased from Rs 8.48 per litre to Rs 9.48 and the same on unbranded diesel has been increased from Rs 9.83 to Rs 11.33 per litre.