India cuts prices of cooking gas by 200 rupees per cylinder
India on Tuesday cut the price of cooking gas for households by about 18% to rein in inflation ahead of crucial state and general elections.
The government has decided to cut prices by 200 rupees ($2.42) on a 14.2-kilogram (33 pounds) cooking gas cylinder sold to 330 million households, Information Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.
The latest reduction will double the subsidy support provided to the 960 million poor under a welfare programme.
This will double the subsidy to 400 rupees per 14.2 kilogram cylinder of cooking gas sold to the poor under a federal welfare programme called the "Ujjwala scheme".
The extension of a subsidy on cooking gas was one of the key factors that helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi win the 2019 general elections.
National elections are due in India in summer of 2024.
