<span style="color: #222222;">India has agreed to release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves. This release will happen in parallel and in consultation with other major global energy consumers including the USA,  China, Japan, and South Korea.<br />''<br />''Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in a statement said that India strongly believes that the pricing of liquid hydrocarbons should be reasonable, responsible, and be determined by market forces. India has repeatedly expressed concern about the supply of oil being artificially adjusted below demand levels by oil-producing countries, leading to rising prices and negative attendant consequences.<br />''<br />''The Ministry said that  Prime Minister Modi has been consistently reviewing the high petroleum and diesel prices domestically.<br />''<br />''It said, in a bid to control inflationary pressures, the Government of India had reduced the 'central excise duty' on petrol by 5 rupees and diesel by  10  rupees on 3rd of this month. It was followed by reduction in VAT on fuel by many state governments.<br />''<br />''The Ministry said that these difficult steps, despite the high fiscal burden on the Government, were taken in order to provide relief to citizens.   </span><br />