Mumbai: At the time when people are angry with the NDA government for hiking fuel prices, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has held the Ukraine war responsible for the hike in fuel prices in the international market.

Speaking at a programme organised by a private news channel, he said that the rise in fuel prices in the international market is beyond the control of the Indian government.

Gadkari claimed that India imports 80 per cent of the oil to meet the demand. “ Because of the war, the  prices of crude oil have sharply increased in the international  market. There is nothing that India can do to prevent it”, he said.

He vehemently believed that India should become self reliant in oil production by developing indigenous energy generation capabilities.

It may be noted that the petroleum companies hiked petrol and diesel prices ny 80 paise a litre each on Friday, the third increase in four days, as oil firms recoup losses from holding rates during the period prior to the recently-concluded assembly elections.

These hikes are the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision began in June 2017.

With three increases beginning March 22, petrol and diesel prices have gone up by ₹ 2.40 a litre.

The government had prevented the oil companies from hiking the prices since November 4 ahead of the assembly elections in five states.

"India will soon have a ₹ 40,000 crore ethanol, methanol and bio-ethanol production economy, reducing our dependence on petroleum imports," Gadkari said.

Leading car and two-wheeler manufacturers in India are working on developing products with flex-fuel engines which will be launched in the coming months, he mentioned.

"The second focus lies in good governance and development while the third most important pillar is Antyodya, under which we try to uplift those who belong to socially and economically backward classes," he said.