Cooking gas cylinder gets dearer by Rs 25

New Delhi: The month of September has started with a jolt of inflation for the common man as the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking gas cylinders across all categories including subsidised gas on Wednesday were hiked by Rs 25 per cylinder — the third straight increase in rates in less than two months. The latest increase in non-subsidised LPG price now has taken the cumulative rate hike since January 1 to Rs 190 per cylinder.

On January 1, the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder in Delhi was Rs 694, which has now increased to Rs 884.50.

This is the third straight increase in prices in less than two months. Subsidised and non-subsidised LPG rates were hiked by Rs 25.50 per cylinder on July 1. Non-subsidised LPG rates rose by Rs 25 per cylinder on August 1 and by the same proportion on August 18.

The government policy provides for the supply of 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each per household at subsidised or below-market rates. Any quantity over this had to be bought at market price or non-subsidised rates.

However, monthly price increases have eliminated the subsidy. These monthly increases led to the elimination of subsidies by May 2020. Barring a few far-flung areas, which get a small portion of freight subsidy, the price of subsidised and non-subsidised LPG in major cities is almost at par.

The price of domestic cooking gas has more than doubled in the last seven years. The retail selling price of domestic gas was Rs 410.5 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 1, 2014. In Mumbai, a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder now costs Rs 884.50 while in Kolkata, it is priced at Rs 911 - the highest among the four metros. The price of a 19-kg commercial cylinder has also been increased by Rs 75, which will now cost Rs 1,693 in Delhi.

The Congress attacked the government over rise in prices of essential commodities including domestic cooking gas, with Rahul Gandhi saying the country is uniting against this injustice. The former Congress chief hit out at the government over the rise in prices of domestic cooking gas and shared a chart of the hike in LPG rates in the four metros since January while using the hashtag "#IndiaAgainstBJPLoot".

The Congress party launched the campaign on social media using the hashtag and shared videos of common people from across the country narrating their woes regarding price rise.

Meanwhile, after remaining unchanged for more than a week, petrol price was cut by 10 paise a litre diesel by 14 paise.

Petrol price in Delhi is now at Rs 101.34 and in Mumbai, it is priced at Rs 107.39 per litre. Diesel price in Delhi is now at Rs 88.77 a litre in Mumbai at Rs 96.33.