Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Saturday that prices of petrol and diesel will be slashed considerably.

The new rates will come into effect from Saturday midnight. According to the Union finance minister, petrol will be cheaper by Rs 9.5 per litre, while diesel prices will be slashed by as much as Rs 7 per litre.

This comes after fuel prices spiraled upwards for months following the crisis in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of the country.

Sitharaman announced a sharp cut in the central excise duty on the prices of fuel bringing much sought relief for the masses.

Moreover, she informed that the central excise duty on petrol had been slashed by Rs 8 per litre and the same on diesel has been cut down by Rs 6 per litre.

The Union minister made the announcement as part of a series of tweets. She tweeted, "We are reducing the Central excise duty on Petrol by ₹ 8 per litre and on Diesel by ₹ 6 per litre."

"This will reduce the price of petrol by ₹ 9.5 per litre and of Diesel by ₹ 7 per litre. It will have revenue implication of around ₹ 1 lakh crore/year for the government," Sitharaman added.

It may be noted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Centre had come under fire from opposition and the citizens after prices of fuel and other daily use commodities soared for months.