With Rs 100 Cut in LPG Prices, PM Modi Reaches Out to Women Before Poll Code Comes Into Play

In another major relief to the common man just before the general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a further Rs 100 cut in the LPG cylinder price in the country. This now means that LPG price has been slashed by Rs 300 in the last six months.

Last August, the Centre had cut the LPG cylinder price by Rs 200 from the prevalent price of Rs 1,103 for a cylinder in Delhi. With another Rs 100 cut announced on Friday on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the price for an LPG cylinder for the common man has come down to Rs 803, a nearly 30% cut in the price over the last six months.

For the over 10 crore PM Ujjwala Scheme consumers, there is a further Rs 300 subsidy over the normal cylinder price, so they will now get an LPG cylinder at just Rs 503.

The Union Cabinet on Thursday had also extended this subsidy for PM Ujjwala consumers for financial year 2024-25. In October 2023, the government had increased this subsidy from Rs 200 to Rs 300 per cylinder.

Coming just before the announcement of the general elections in a week or so by the Election Commission of India, the Modi government is trying to retain its loyal women voter base with the cylinder move.

The Congress party has been running a campaign saying the LPG cylinder was priced only around Rs 400-Rs 500 during its term, but the price had risen exponentially under the NDA regime. With the price cuts announced now, the Modi government can claim that it has brought the LPG price for the poorest of the consumers (PM Ujjwala beneficiaries) to Rs 503 and has been cognizant to the concerns of the poor and the women voters on prices.

The LPG cylinder prices had nearly doubled to Rs 1,103 over the past three years till August last year. The Opposition-ruled states, too, targeted the Centre on the high LPG cylinder prices, making the situation uncomfortable for the BJP.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan has already started giving LPG cylinders for Rs 500, with the state footing the rest of the cost, and the present BJP government in Rajasthan had to follow suit after making a poll promise of giving the LPG cylinder at Rs 450.

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had to also announce giving LPG cylinders at Rs 450, given the attack from the Congress party on this.

India imports more than 60% of its domestic LPG consumption and the price of LPG in the country is linked to its price in the international market. But political realities are different. The increasing price of LPG has also not impacted consumption, which has, in fact, been growing in India. The consumption of LPG in the country has gone up from 19.62 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2015-16 to 28.50 MMT in FY 2022-23.

Also, the number of domestic LPG consumers has increased from 16.67 crore in 2016 to 31.5 crore in 2023, which includes nearly 10 crore new PMUY beneficiaries. The per capita consumption of LPG by the PMUY households has also gone up from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.71 refills in 2022-23, figures show.