New Delhi, May 12 -- India's state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been incurring significant losses by selling petrol, diesel, and gaseous fuels below cost amid a surge in international crude prices, and the government will eventually have to decide how long this situation can continue, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.

He also sought to dispel the assumption that the government had so far not raised fuel prices to prevent a political backlash during the recent state polls, saying that elections and fuel price revisions were not related.

Addressing the annual general meeting of industry lobby CII, Puri said that oil marketing companies were losing Rs.1,000 crore a day due to stagnant pump prices despite a s...