No proposal to raise subsidised LPG cylinder quota : Vivek Rae

The government has no proposal before it to raise the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders from nine to 12 per household a year, Oil Secretary Vivek Rae said on Monday.

“There is no proposal in my ministry,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event here.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had last week stated that there were demands from “several chief ministers” for raising the quota of subsidised cylinders and the government “will look into” them.

Mr. Rae said his ministry, as of now, is not processing or proposing any change in the subsidised quota.

“I am not aware if there is any decision (on raising the limit) at political level,” he said.

With a view to cutting its subsidy bill, the government had capped the supply of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders to six per household a year in September 2012. The quota was raised to nine cylinders per household a year in January 2013.

Officials said state-owned oil firms currently lose Rs 762.70 per cylinder on the sale of subsidised LPG and the government will have to pay higher subsidy if the quota is raised.