LPG price hike: The central government on Monday announced a hike of Rs 50 for LPG cylinders which will come into effect from April 8 2025 (Tuesday). The announcement was made by Union Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri who said that the new cooking gas prices will be applicable to both Ujwalla Yojana beneficiaries and general users. Following the LPG price hike the price of 14.2-kg LPG cylinder will increase from Rs 803 to Rs 853 for general users and from Rs 503 to Rs 553 per 14.2 kg cylinder for users under the Ujwalla scheme. The price per cylinder of LPG will increase by Rs 50. From Rs 500 it will go up to Rs 550 (for PMUY beneficiaries) and for others it will go up from Rs 803 to Rs 853 the minister announced at a presser. This is a step which we will review as we go along. We review these every 2-3 weeks Puri said. The Oil Minister further said the imposition of additional excise duties on petrol and diesel is intended to compensate the oil marketing companies for losses they have incurred earlier. The two rupee excise duty has been imposed by the finance ministry. It will not be passed on to the consumer. It will come into the general kitty and it will be utilized for reimbursing the LPG losses of the same (oil marketing) company he said. According to a notification from the Department of Revenue the central government has raised the excise duties on diesel and petrol by Rs 2 per litre effective Tuesday. Currently the government charges excise duty of Rs 19.90 per litre on petrol. From Tuesday it is going to be increased to Rs 21.90 a litre. Similarly the current excise duty on diesel is Rs 15.80 per litre and it will increase to Rs 17.80 per litre effective Tuesday. Oil marketing companies have informed the Petroleum Ministry that retail prices of petrol and diesel will remain the same. Crude prices have softened over the past from over USD 70 per barrel to USD 63 per barrel on Monday raising margins for the oil marketing companies (OMCs). This substantial decline in oil prices may have prompted the government to hike the excise duties on petrol and diesel. (With inputs from agencies)