Excise duty cut to spur demand, jobs: Rajiv Kumar

New Delhi: Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said excise duty cuts by the government will spur demand, economic activity and employment.

The government on Tuesday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each to moderate the relentless rise in fuel prices witnessed for the last three months.

"Excise duty cuts by the government are most welcome. Will spur demand, economic activity and employment," Kumar said in a tweet.

The excise duty cut would cost the government Rs 26,000 crore in annual revenue and about Rs 13,000 crore during the remaining part of the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2018, an official statement had said.

The government, which had between November 2014 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices, has been criticised for not cutting excise duty despite a sustained rise in fuel prices since early July.