Cooking gas consumers in India will now have to pay ₹50 more per LPG cylinder after the latest revision in prices by distribution companies. Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri confirmed on Monday that the price hike applies to both general category users and beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
With this revision, the price of a standard 14.2-kg LPG cylinder for general consumers will increase from ₹803 to ₹853. Similarly, those availing benefits under the Ujjwala scheme will now pay ₹553 per cylinder, up from ₹503. The move is expected to impact household budgets significantly, especially with temperatures soaring in several parts of the country and overall inflationary pressures mounting.
In a related development, the central government has also announced a ₹2 per litre increase in excise duty on both petrol and diesel. According to an official notification, the excise duty on petrol has been raised to ₹13 per litre, and for diesel, it now stands at ₹10 per litre. However, the Ministry clarified that this hike in duty will not affect the retail prices of fuel. The additional levy will be absorbed by adjusting it against the anticipated price cut driven by falling international crude oil prices.
The changes in excise duty will come into effect starting April 8, 2025. Although price hikes in taxes generally lead to higher prices at the consumer level, the declining global oil prices have created a buffer, allowing the government to impose this duty hike without burdening the end-user.
The international oil market has recently seen a sharp decline, reaching its lowest point since April 2021. This is attributed to escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, which have raised fears of a potential economic slowdown. Experts suggest that the fall in demand expectations has led to this sharp slump in global crude prices, providing the Indian government with the leeway to maintain current fuel prices for consumers despite higher taxation.
This dual-pronged approach—hiking LPG prices while keeping petrol and diesel prices unchanged—signals a strategic attempt by the government to balance fiscal needs with consumer sentiment, especially in the backdrop of a volatile global economy.
#LPGPriceHike #FuelUpdateIndia #UjjwalaYojana #PetrolDieselPrices #OilPriceDrop #HardeepSinghPuri #ExciseDuty #IndiaEnergyNews #BudgetImpact
Inputs are taken from web and this is also a web-generated news report.
