New Delhi: In a significant development affecting households across India, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday announced a ₹50 hike in the price of LPG cylinders by oil distribution companies. The revised rates push the cost of a subsidised cylinder under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from ₹500 to ₹550. For regular domestic consumers, the price per LPG cylinder has gone up from ₹803 to ₹853.
Speaking about the hike, Puri said the decision would be reassessed soon.
“This is a step which we will review as we go along. We review these every 2-3 weeks,” he said.
The price hike comes alongside the government’s move to increase excise duties on petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre each, effective April 8. According to an official notification, the excise duty on petrol has been raised to ₹13 per litre and on diesel to ₹10 per litre.
Defending the move, the Minister said the excise increase is not aimed at burdening consumers, but rather at supporting oil marketing companies. “The excise duty that you have seen increase is not to go on to the consumer on petrol and diesel. That excise increase is intended to compensate the oil marketing companies for ₹43,000 crore that they have incurred as a loss on the gas part of it,” he explained.
CNG to Cost More
In related updates, the price of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is also set to rise. Last month, the government increased the price of natural gas produced from old legacy fields – known as APM (Administered Price Mechanism) gas – from $6.50 to $6.75 per MMBtu (million British thermal units) effective April 1. APM gas is a key input for CNG and fertilizers.
Relief for Commercial LPG and ATF Users
While domestic LPG and fuel prices saw a rise, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and commercial LPG witnessed a drop in prices in the monthly revision.
- ATF prices were slashed by 6.15% or ₹5,870.54 per kilolitre, bringing the rate to ₹89,441.18 per kl in Delhi.
- Commercial LPG cylinders (19 kg), used by hotels and restaurants, were reduced by ₹41 per unit.
