It is another instance of the diabolic game of giving by the left hand and taking by the right, the Modi government has played a prank on people by raising LPG prices. After all the hype and hoopla about the excise duty cut, though negligible in terms of the total tax, by the Centre, following by much sermonising to the states to follow suit, the price of the LPG gas meant for commercial use has been hiked by Rs 100 per cylinder. This is the second price increase in the space of a month.The price increase for commercial use LPG means it will have a ripple effect, affecting every sector of the economy, thus further burdening people. From transport to food, it will force price increases in every sphere of citizen’s life, already down in the dumps due to a sequence of debacles, man-made as well natural. First it was Modi’s misadventure of demonetisation, followed by a premature lockdown, whose timing went terribly wrong, forcing the century’s biggest job displacement and finally the Covid crisis over which nobody had any control. With spiralling inflation, the new price increase will also have serious implications for the economy, further complicating a much-needed, but reluctant recovery.To add insult to injury, the price increase happens when the petroleum prices in the world market are crashing, driven by fears of a new wave of infection on account of the more dangerous Omicron variant of coronavirus, spooking financial markets and rattling the crude market in view of heightened worries about oil use. The result is that crude futures have recorded their biggest monthly declines since the outset of the pandemic, which means petroleum prices are at their lowest levels in 20 months.
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