ATF price cut by 3%, commercial LPG rate down by Rs 24
New Delhi (PTI): The price of jet fuel, or ATF, was on Sunday slashed by 3 per cent - the third straight monthly reduction on softening international benchmark prices.
The fall in international benchmark oil and gas prices also led to a Rs 24 per 19-kg cylinder cut in rate of commercial LPG used in hotels and restaurants.
The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was reduced by Rs 2,414.25 per kilolitre, or 2.82 per cent, to Rs 83,072.55 per kl in the national capital - home to one of the busiest airports in the country, according to state-owned fuel retailers.
The price cut follows a 4.4 per cent (Rs 3,954.38 per kl) reduction on May 1 and a steep 6.15 per cent (Rs 5,870.54 per kl) reduction effected from April 1. Together with Sunday's reduction, the price cuts have more than offset the hikes that occurred earlier this year.
A reduction in price of ATF will ease the burden on commercial airlines, for whom fuel makes up for almost 40 per cent of the operating cost.
No immediate comments could be obtained from the airlines on the price reduction.
The ATF price in Mumbai was slashed to Rs 77,602.73 per kl from Rs 79,855.59, while those in Chennai and Kolkata were reduced to Rs 86,103.25 and Rs 86,052.57 per kl, respectively.
Oil firms also reduced the price of commercial LPG by Rs 24 per 19-kg cylinder. Commercial LPG now costs Rs 1,723.50 in the national capital and Rs 1,647.50 in Mumbai.
This reduction follows a Rs 14.50 cut on May 1 and a Rs 41 per cylinder cut in rate effected on April 1.
International oil prices have softened in the last couple of months as global trade war eroded the outlook for fuel demand.
Prices of ATF and LPG differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes, including VAT.
The rate of cooking gas used in domestic households, however, remained unchanged at Rs 853 per 14.2-kg cylinder. The price of the domestic LPG was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder in April.
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise prices of ATF and cooking gas on the first of every month based on the average price of benchmark international fuel and foreign exchange rate.
While international oil prices have softened, domestic rates of petrol and diesel continue to remain frozen. Rates were cut by Rs 2 per litre in mid-March last year, ahead of the general elections. Petrol costs Rs 94.72 a litre in Delhi, while diesel is priced at Rs 87.62.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
