The price of a 19-kg LPG cylinder in Delhi has been slashed by Rs 198 with effect from Friday, July 1, state-owned retailers said in a notification on the day.
The price of LPG cylinder has come down by Rs 182 in Kolkata. On the other hand, it has declined by Rs 190.50 in Mumbai and Rs 187 in Chennai. Petroleum company Indian Oil has also reduced the price of commercial cylinders. Consumers of domestic LPG cylinders have not received any relief. A 14.2 kg domestic cylinder has not become cheaper. Even now it is available at the same rate as on May 19.
This comes after a rate cut in commercial cylinder prices last month. Earlier, the price was slashed by Rs 135 with effect from June 1. However, as mentioned earlier, the price of a 14.2-kg domestic cooking cylinder has remained unchanged.
Consumers of domestic LPG cylinders, on the other hand, were hit twice in May. The price of domestic cylinders was hiked by Rs 50 per liter for the first time on May 7. On May 19, the price of domestic LPG cylinders had gone up.
The price of a domestic LPG cylinder was hiked to Rs 1,003 in Delhi last month – which was the second consecutive increase in one month. The rising rates of crude oil globally had prompted state-owned fuel retailers to hike LPG prices. Over the last month, cooking gas prices had increased by as much as Rs 53.50 per cylinder, which had then soared above Rs 1,000 in most cities across the country.
Meanwhile, the fuel prices in India have been steady for over a month now. On July 1, the prices for petrol and diesel remain unchanged, causing relief to the people. Even a minor fluctuation in fuel prices can have a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of people, as well as, society as a whole.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in the Excise Duty of fuel on May 21, after which the prices of petrol and diesel dropped by a significant margin. While the petrol price was reduced by Rs 8 per litre, the price of diesel was lowered by Rs 6 per litre.
On June 30, Delhi is selling petrol at Rs 96.72 per litre and diesel at a price of Rs 89.62 per litre. On the other hand, Mumbai is providing petrol at Rs 111.35 per litre. The diesel price in the city is currently Rs 97.28 per litre. In Kolkata, the petrol price stands at Rs 106.03 per litre and the diesel price at Rs 92.76 per litre, whereas, people in Chennai have to pay Rs 102.63 for one litre of petrol and Rs 94.24 per litre for diesel.
Last month, the government said that it has limited subsidy on cooking gas LPG for only 9 crore poor women and other beneficiaries who got free connections under the Ujjwala scheme and the remaining users including households will pay the market price.
Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain at a news briefing said no subsidy is paid on cooking gas since June 2020 and the only subsidy that is provided is the one that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on March 21.
Sitharaman had while announcing a cut in excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6, stated that Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries will get Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy for 12 bottles in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.