New Delhi: In what can be termed as a bad news for the consumers, domestic cooking gas or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices were hiked by 14 per cent in Delhi, according to media reports.

Oil companies on Thursday announced a steep price hike by Rs. 73.50 in Delhi on the price of a domestic 14.2 kg LPG cylinder. The revised price of a cylinder will be Rs. 597.50. The new rates will be applicable from September 1.

The price of a 14.2 kg domestic cylinder for August this year was Rs. 524 in Delhi.

The unprecedented hike comes exactly a month after the Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Lok Sabha that the government has asked state-run oil companies to raise subsidised cooking gas (LPG) prices by Rs 4 per cylinder every month to eliminate all the subsidies by March next year.

Now, the quantum has been doubled so as to bring down the subsidy to nil, he said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 31.

Every household is entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates in a year. Any requirement beyond that is to be purchased at market price.

IOC and BPCL:

Previously, the government had asked Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) to raise rates of subsidised domestic LPG by Rs 2 per 14.2-kg cylinder per month (excluding VAT).

Oil companies have raised rates twice since then, the last being on July 1 when rates were up by a steep Rs 32 per cylinder — the steepest increase in six years. This hike was because of the May 30 order as well a reflection of hiked tax rates under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

Till now, there are as many as 18.11 crore customers of subsidised LPG and 2.66 crore users of non-subsidised cooking gas in the country.