Gas cylinder became the cheapest in 7 months, price came down below Rs 1,700

Business News:  On the morning of May 1, bringing the message of relief for the countrymen. New prices of LPG cylinders were released in four major metros of the country like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. This time, the prices of commercial gas cylinders declined for the second consecutive month. This decline was so intense that the price reached a minimum level of last seven months. That is, now their price has gone below ₹ 1700.

For example, the commercial cylinder in Kolkata will now be available in ₹ 1851.50, while earlier it was priced at ₹ 1868.50. Its value in Mumbai has come down from ₹ 1713.50 to ₹ 1699. In Delhi, it will be sold for ₹ 1747.50, which was earlier ₹ 1762. At the same time, its price in Chennai has come down to ₹ 1906.50. This is the first time that such a big cut after October 2024 has brought commercial gas below ₹ 1700. It is no less than a tonic for the business world.

Domestic gas stable, prices increased only last month

While commercial consumers have got relief, there was no new change in the prices of domestic gas cylinders.  Significantly, on 8 April last month, the Central Government had increased the prices of domestic LPG by ₹ 50. This increase took place after about a year, which affected the pockets of the common housewives.

Poor people exempted ₹ 300 under Ujjwala scheme

There are a total of 32.9 crore LPG consumers in the country. Of these, 10.33 crore beneficiaries fall under the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana. Under this scheme, poor families get direct subsidy of ₹ 300 per cylinder. However, the impact of the Ujjwala scheme is limited due to already implemented state schemes in South Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Here only 10 percent of the consumers come under the purview of this scheme.

Provision of huge amount in budget for subsidy

Whereas in 2022-23, oil companies were given an amount of ₹ 22,000 crore so that they could continue the supply of gas cylinders despite the deficit. This step is directly going to provide relief to the pockets of the common man and small traders. Whether the prices of gas are stable or decrease, every change now also has political matters.