Subsidy for a Rs 710 cooking cylinder drops to Rs 25!

YouTurn EditorialFebruary 3, 2021

190 1 minute read

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Photo of the subsidy given to customers who receive cooking gas cylinders at subsidized prices from 2018 to January 2021.

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While the price of cooking gas cylinders for non-subsidized and commercial use is on the rise, some people who buy cooking gas cylinders at subsidized prices do not take it too seriously in the hope that the subsidy will be refunded even if there is a slight increase in price.

However, since May 2020, customers who purchase a cooking gas cylinder at a subsidized price have been given a subsidy of only Rs. 25.

From May 2018 to January 2021, the photo of the page ordering the cylinder price and the remaining amount of the subsidy amount has gone viral on social media. Followers are constantly asking about its authenticity.

According to The Hindu English on January 1, 2021, the price of a 14.2 kg gas cylinder in December 2019 was Rs.714 and the subsidy paid to the customer was Rs.174.72. In April 2019, when the price of a cylinder was Rs.722, a subsidy of Rs.238.27 was paid.

In May 2020, when the price of a cylinder was Rs.569, no subsidy was paid to customers. From the following months onwards, the subsidy ranges from Rs.25.45 to Rs.23.95. However, the price of a cylinder has gone up from Rs 606 to Rs 710. ”

According to the government, the cooking gas subsidy fell to Rs 1,126 crore in the first half of the current fiscal from Rs 22,635 crore in the full fiscal 2019-2020. Similarly, the cylinder subsidy, which was Rs 31,447 crore in 2018-19, will fall to 28% in 2019-20” economic times reported on December 8, 2020.

The price of the first cylinder, which has been on the viral list since 2018, is also featured on the iocl.com website. Also, details of the amount of subsidy being offered to customers since last 2019 are featured in news items including The Hindu and Economic Times.

In an article published by Youturn in March 2019 regarding the direct subsidy for a gas cylinder, “When the price of a cylinder purchased in Chennai in February 2019 was Rs. 673, the subsidy paid by the government to the bank was Rs. 191.66. The price of a cylinder in February was Rs 481.34 per cylinder. That price and subsidy amount is exactly the same as in the viral data.

Explanation

The subsidy for cooking gas cylinders has not been provided since last May after the onset of the Corona epidemic. Despite falling international oil prices, petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices in India continue to rise.

Customers who check the bank account and find out that the subsidy amount is too low for the cylinder distribution agencies and get involved in disputes. But oil companies say the subsidy is being set by the Ministry of Petroleum.

Consumer activists have suggested that the cylinder subsidy should be increased in view of the current situation.