With the opposition slamming BJP-led government over a steep Rs 144.50 hike in price of the non-subsidised LPG cylinder, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on Thursday that there has been a sharp increase in the international price of LPG during January and its impact has been mostly borne by the government through increase in subsidy for the subsidised and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) consumers.
A ministry release said the LPG price is derived based on the international market price for the previous month.
It said the LPG price for cooking for consumers under PAHAL (Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG) is subsidised by the Union Government and the subsidy quantum given to them is the difference between the market-determined price and the subsidised price.
"Today the national LPG coverage is about 97 per cent with more than 27.76 crore connections. Therefore, out of the about 27.76 crore consumers, in respect of about 26.12 crore consumers the increase in price is borne by the government," the release said.
It said there has been a hike of Rs 144.50 for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in the market-determined price of domestic non-subsidised LPG at Delhi "on account of a sharp increase in the international price of LPG during January 2020 from $ 448/MT to $ 567/MT."
The release said that the price of domestic non-subsidised LPG cylinder has increased from Rs 714 per cylinder to Rs 858.50 per cylinder and the subsidy amount to subsidised consumers in Delhi has increased from Rs 153.86 per cylinder to Rs 291.48 per cylinder.
It said the subsidised LPG consumers have been insulated from the volatility of LPG prices in the international market.
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"For a 14.2 kg cylinder, the subsidy borne by government to domestic users has increased from Rs 153.86 per cylinder to Rs 291.48 per cylinder. For the PMUY consumers, the subsidy borne by the government has increased from Rs 174.86 per cylinder to Rs 312.48 per cylinder. Therefore, the impact of the price hike is mostly borne by the government," the release said.
The Congress and other opposition parties have demanded rollback of the LPG price hike.