Mumbai, May 25 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed crucial domestic fiscal issues, firmly clarifying the mechanics behind recent petrol and diesel hikes before weighing in on gold optimization, the RBI dividend, and India's growth trajectory amid the West Asia crisis.

Addressing the media on the immediate concerns regarding the rising costs of retail fuel on the sidelines of the TEXPROCIL Export Awards on Monday, FM Sitharaman clarified that price hikes are purely operational and driven by global procurement realities rather than sudden government policy changes.

She revealed that the central government had previously absorbed massive shocks--resulting in a Rs 1 lakh crore fiscal hit from reducing central taxes--to in...