New Delhi: The Union government has increased the price of cooking gas or a domestic LPG cylinder by Rs 50 per cylinder. Amid a sharp fall in global rates, the government has also increased the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 each.Union oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri made the LPG announcement on Monday. The price has been increased for both subsidised and non-subsidised customers.“The price of 14.2 kg LPG will go on to increase from Rs 500 to Rs 550 under Ujwala and from Rs 803 to Rs 853 for non-Ujwala users,” Puri said.Excise hikeThe excise duty on petrol is now Rs 13, and for diesel, Rs 10.The notification released by the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance says that the rates will come into effect on April 8.Retail prices will not increase, the petroleum ministry has said.“PSU Oil Marketing Companies have informed that there will be no increase in retail prices of #Petrol and #Diesel, subsequent to the increase effected in Excise Duty Rates today. #MoPNG,” the official X account of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas wrote.In the meantime, tariff-fuelled fears of a recession has led to a price drop for oil in the US and the world. There are fears that a slowdown in economic activity can hurt oil demand.Puri said that the increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel is not directed at burdening consumers but intended to help offset a Rs 41,338-crore loss incurred by oil marketing companies due to subsidised gas prices.“The excise duty increase that you see is not to go to the consumer of petrol and diesel. That excise increase is intended to compensate the oil marketing companies for Rs 41,338 crore that they have incurred as a loss on the gas part of it,” he said.LIVE | Addressing a press conference now https://t.co/ROUPFRQAmy— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) April 7, 2025
