New Delhi, Jun 1: Prices of commercial LPG – the one used in hotels and restaurants – as well as 5-kg market-priced LPG cylinders were on Monday hiked in line with global benchmarks, but rates of cooking gas used in household kitchens were kept unchanged.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by Rs 42 to Rs 3,113.50 per 19-kg cylinder from Rs 3,071.50 in Delhi, industry sources said.
The latest increase follows a sharp Rs 993 hike implemented on May 1, taking commercial LPG prices to their highest-ever levels.
Prices of 5-kg free-trade LPG (FTL) cylinders were also increased by Rs 11 to Rs 821.50 per cylinder.
Household consumers were spared any increase, with the price of the 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder remaining unchanged at Rs 913 since early March, when rates were increased by Rs 60 per bottle.
The revisions are part of the monthly price review undertaken by state-owned oil marketing companies.
Prices vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes, such as VAT.
While commercial LPG prices have climbed to record highs, household cooking gas rates have remained unchanged despite a sharp rise in import costs, underscoring the government’s efforts to shield consumers from global energy volatility, government sources said.
The cost of supplying a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder has risen by about two-fifths in recent months, driven largely by a surge in international benchmark prices. Yet retail prices for households have remained frozen.
For beneficiaries of the government’s flagship Ujjwala scheme, the gap is even wider. A domestic LPG cylinder that costs roughly Rs 1,200 to supply is available to Ujjwala consumers at an effective price of Rs 613 after the Rs 300-per-cylinder direct benefit transfer subsidy, according to government estimates.
The increase in supply costs has been fuelled by a sharp rise in the Saudi Contract Price (CP) for propane, the benchmark used for India’s LPG imports. Saudi CP jumped 38 per cent in April after disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz tightened Gulf supplies, according to industry data.
Despite the rise in global prices, India’s household LPG rates remain among the lowest in the region, according to government sources. Both subsidised and non-subsidised domestic cylinders are priced below comparable cooking gas cylinders in neighbouring countries, although cylinder sizes vary across markets.
The protection comes at a cost. State-owned fuel retailers incurred an under-recovery of Rs 41,338 crore on domestic LPG sales in 2024-25. Following the spike in international prices, the under-recovery for 2025-26 is estimated at around Rs 60,000 crore, according to oil ministry projections.
To offset part of the burden, the government has approved a compensation of Rs 30,000 crore to state-owned oil marketing companies in the current fiscal year.
The support framework is tied to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, under which more than 100 million households have received LPG connections since 2016, alongside a capped subsidy of Rs 300 per cylinder.
Commercial LPG, by contrast, is priced on a market-linked basis and revised every month in line with international benchmarks. Domestic LPG rates are administered and insulated from immediate global price swings – a policy that has helped protect household budgets even as energy costs have surged. (PTI)
