For the second consecutive month, oil companies have hiked the prices of domestic Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders by Rs 25, taking the cost to Rs 859.50 a piece in the national capital. The price has been hiked in similar proportion all across the country.
This is the highest price at which a subsidised domestic cylinder is being sold in the city following the gradual lowering of government support since the elimination of the LPG subsidy in May 2020.
A negligible subsidy is being borne by the central government at present prices and most consumers are bearing the full burden of the high prices.
In June the prices of LPG cylinders in Delhi NCR were at Rs 809. This was hiked by Rs 25 to Rs 834 on the 1st of July by oil companies. In the period between January 1 and August 17, the prices of domestic LPG cylinders had gone up by Rs 165 each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently launched the second leg of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme, in a bid to ease access to the LPG connections for the needy. The first phase of the scheme saw the disbursal of eight crore LPG connections to below poverty line households. In the second phase of the scheme, the government is planning to launch an additional one crore gas connection.