SRINAGAR: Fuel consumption in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed 1.35 million tonnes in 2024–25, underlining a sustained rise in demand for petrol and diesel despite continuing price disparities across states and Union Territories, the Union government has told Parliament.
According to data placed before the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, petrol consumption in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 412.9 thousand metric tonnes in 2024–25, up from 273.1 thousand metric tonnes in 2020–21. Diesel consumption during the same year stood at 941.6 thousand metric tonnes, compared to 576.0 thousand metric tonnes five years earlier, taking the combined fuel consumption in the Union Territory to over 1.35 million tonnes.
In a written reply to an unstarred question answered on December 15, 2025, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said fuel prices are market-determined, with Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies taking pricing decisions. The final retail selling prices, he said, are influenced by central excise duty and Value Added Tax or other local levies fixed by respective state and Union Territory governments, as well as freight-related costs.
As per official figures, the retail selling price of petrol in Srinagar was Rs 100.71 per litre as on December 9, 2025, while diesel was priced at Rs 86.88 per litre. Central excise duty accounted for Rs 21.90 per litre on petrol and Rs 17.80 per litre on diesel, while VAT in Jammu and Kashmir stood at Rs 17.51 per litre on petrol and Rs 8.61 per litre on diesel.
The government said it had reduced central excise duty on petrol by Rs 13 per litre and on diesel by Rs 16 per litre in November 2021 and May 2022, and claimed these cuts were fully passed on to consumers. Oil marketing companies also reduced retail prices of both fuels by Rs 2 per litre in March 2024. An excise duty increase of Rs 2 per litre on petrol and diesel in April 2025 was not passed on to consumers.
Addressing regional price variations, the ministry said differences in fuel prices across the country largely arise from varying VAT rates and local levies imposed by states and Union Territories. It added that public sector oil marketing companies have undertaken intra-state freight rationalisation to reduce price gaps between remote and urban areas, benefiting consumers in far-flung regions of states such as Jammu and Kashmir.
The Centre said fuel prices and consumption trends are monitored through the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, which compiles state-wise data on retail prices and sales, including for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
