LPG Cylinder Price Rises By Rs 50 For Ujjwala And General Consumers; CNG Gets Re 1 Hike
LPG cylinder prices have increased by ₹50, with the cost for Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries rising to ₹550 and for non-Ujjwala consumers to ₹853.
In a move that could pinch household budgets, the price of domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was hiked by ₹50 per 14.2-kg cylinder across the country on Monday, while compressed natural gas (CNG) rates were increased by ₹1 per kg. Additionally, the central government raised excise duties on petrol and diesel by ₹2 per litre each.
The revised LPG prices, applicable to both Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries and general users, will come into effect from 8 April, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced. Following the hike, the cost for Ujjwala users in Delhi will rise to ₹553 per cylinder from the current ₹503, while general users will now pay ₹853.
Puri said the increase was necessitated due to a surge in input costs. “The average Saudi CP – the international benchmark used for LPG pricing since India is majorly import-dependent – has risen by 63 per cent to USD 629 per tonne in February 2025 from USD 385 in July 2023,” he stated. As a result, the cost of an unsubsidised cylinder in Delhi should be ₹1,028.50, he added, as per news agency PTI.
Public sector oil marketing companies have so far modulated prices despite under-recoveries, Puri said, revealing that they incurred losses amounting to ₹41,338 crore during the 2024–25 fiscal due to below-cost LPG sales. In light of these losses, prices have been “moderately increased”.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the city gas retailer, confirmed on X that CNG prices in the national capital have been revised to ₹75.09 per kg following a nearly 4 per cent hike in input natural gas prices, which increased from USD 6.50 to USD 6.75 per million British thermal units from 1 April.
Excise Duty On Petrol & Diesel Won't Affect Consumers: Hardeep Puri
Simultaneously, the government has raised the special additional excise duty (SAED) on petrol from ₹11 to ₹13 per litre, and on diesel from ₹8 to ₹10. Including other levies, the total central tax incidence on petrol now stands at ₹21.90 per litre, while diesel carries a central tax burden of ₹17.80 per litre.
However, Puri assured that the excise duty increase would not affect consumers at the pump. “There will be no change in retail selling price of petrol and diesel as the excise hike will be adjusted against the price cut that was warranted because of falling international oil prices,” he explained. Crude oil prices have dropped significantly, with Brent futures falling to USD 63.15 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude slipping to USD 59.57 — their lowest since April 2021, amid rising concerns of a global recession due to US-China trade tensions.
The oil ministry, in a post on X, reiterated that public sector 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”.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil firm, also stated on X that the excise duty hike “will not be passed on to the consumers. On the one hand, this will insulate the customers from the price hike, while on the other hand, the collected amount may be utilised towards under-recovery of #LPG, providing relief to Oil Marketing Companies.”
The excise duty hike is expected to generate an additional ₹32,000 crore annually, based on the country’s annual consumption of 16,000 crore litres of petrol and diesel. The LPG price hike alone is projected to garner ₹5,000–7,000 crore.
Puri underlined the government’s commitment to supporting oil marketing companies, stating, “It is our commitment to make good their losses.” He also mentioned that future costs would be covered by the current hike, while past under-recoveries may require budgetary support from the finance ministry. Prices will continue to be reviewed monthly, with any reduction in international prices to be passed on to consumers.
Petrol currently retails at ₹94.77 per litre in Delhi, while diesel is priced at ₹87.67 per litre.
The government has historically increased excise duties during periods of falling international crude prices. Between November 2014 and January 2016, it raised duties on nine occasions, helping excise collections more than double from ₹99,000 crore in 2014–15 to ₹2.42 lakh crore in 2016–17. However, several rollbacks were made in subsequent years as oil prices surged.
The new excise duty rates will come into force on 8 April 2025, according to an official notification.
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