Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) that is used by airlines is selling about 33 per cent cheaper than petrol and diesel in Delhi. Petrol and diesel are selling at a record price in the country even though their prices were not hiked on Monday.

After Sunday’s hike of 35 paise per litre, petrol and diesel, the primary fuel used for plying on the road, was significantly higher than the ATF that is sold to airlines.

With the latest hike, petrol now sells at Rs 100 or more a litre in all state capitals. Diesel prices crossed Rs 100 a litre in at least a dozen state capitals. The other auto fuel, compressed natural gas or CNG, costs little under Rs 50 a litre in Delhi.

The price of petrol rose to Rs 105.84 a litre in Delhi and Rs 111.77 per litre in Mumbai. Diesel prices rose to Rs 94.57 in Delhi and Rs 102.52 a litre in Mumbai. Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan has the costliest auto fuels with petrol costing Rs 117.86 a litre and diesel Rs 105.95.

ATF, on the other hand, costs Rs 79,020.16 per kilolitre in Delhi, or Rs 79 per litre. ATF, however, has also seen a sharp rise in prices this year. On January 1, following three hikes in a month, ATF sold at Rs 50,978.78 per kilolitre or Rs 50.97 per litre.

The reasons for high oil prices are the same: an increase in the central government’s taxes from 14 per cent in 2014 to 32 per cent now, and hike in state taxes from 17 per cent to 23 per cent during the same period.

Consequently, the central government collected Rs 4.6 lakh crore in taxes from petroleum in 2020-21, up from Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2014-15 — an increase of 164 per cent. The tax collection from petroleum for states, however, has remained constant at about Rs 2 lakh crore for the past three years.