Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said that the government could take some "difficult decisions" in the months ahead amid indications that oil firms are considering an increase in the prices of automobile and cooking fuels on the back of rising crude oil prices.
"In meeting the targets under the (expenditure) roadmap, I am conscious of the fact that the Centre would need to take and implement some difficult decisions in the coming months,” Mukherjee said.
With crude prices hovering at $125 a barrel, oil firms want a hike in fuel prices as soon as next week, once the budget session of Parliament goes into a break.
“We cannot go on with the approach that is divorced from reality,” Mukherjee said, adding that merely announcing decision without follow-up action serves “no purpose”.
Costlier fuel will fan inflation, which has started climbing. It went up to 6.95% in February from 6.55% the previous month.