NEW DELHI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Petrol, diesel and gold are set to become costlier in India in the days to come after federal government Friday proposed to increase taxes while presenting the annual general budget.
The prices of petrol and diesel are set to rise by INR 2 per liter in the country as federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an increase of special additional excise duty as well as road and infrastructure cess by INR 1 per liter each on automobile fuels.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman also said the government proposes to increase custom duty on gold and precious metals from 10 percent to 12.5 percent.
India is one of the largest gold importers in the world.
Friday's budget was Sitharaman's maiden one and first budget of the Narendra Modi government in the second tenure.
The minister said India will become a 3-trillion-U.S.-dollar economy in the current fiscal year, and aiming at becoming a 5-trillion-U.S.-dollar economy in the next few years.
In the Economic Survey tabled in the country's parliament on Thursday, India's gross domestic product growth was projected at 7 percent in financial year 2019-20.
