LPG price hiked by over Rs 2 after rise in dealers' commission
New Delhi, Nov 9: Domestic cooking gas LPG prices have been hiked by over Rs 2 per cylinder after the government increased the commission paid to LPG dealers.
A 14.2-kg subsidised LPG cylinder in Delhi will now cost Rs 507.42 as against Rs 505.34 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
This followed an order of the Oil Ministry that raised the dealer's commission. In that order, the ministry said the domestic LPG distributors' commission for 14.2-kg cylinder and 5-kg cylinder was last fixed at Rs 48.89 and Rs 24.20 respectively in September 2017.
"Pending finalisation of De-Novo Study for revision of LPG distributors' commission and taking into consideration the increase in transportation costs, wages etc, it has been decided to revise the distributors' commission to Rs 50.58 per 14.2 kg cylinder and Rs 25.29 per 5 kg cylinder as an interim measure," the order said.
This is the second increase in rates this month, the earlier one being on November 1, when prices went up by Rs 2.94 per cylinder because of tax component on base price.
Since June rates have gone up every month because of the GST paid on higher base price and cumulatively prices have risen by Rs 16.21.
In Mumbai, a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder now costs Rs 505.05 while in Kolkata it is priced at Rs 510.70. Chennai has a price of Rs 495.39.
Rates differ from state to state depending on local taxes and transportation cost.
The new dealer's commission will be made up of Rs 30.08 establishment charges and Rs 20.50 delivery charges for a 14.2-kg cylinder. For 5 kg cylinder, the establishment charges have been fixed at Rs 15.04 and the rest Rs 10.25 are delivery charges, the ministry order said.
Customers who collect their refills directly from distributor's premises will continue not to be charged for delivery, it said.
Before the hike, the dealer's commission was made up of Rs 29.39 establishment charges and Rs 19.50 delivery charges for a 14.2-kg cylinder. For 5 kg bottle, the establishment charges were Rs 14.70 and delivery charges Rs 9.50.
All LPG consumers have to buy the fuel at market price. The government, however, subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each per households in a year by providing the subsidy amount directly in bank accounts of users.
This subsidy amount varies from month to month depending on the changes in the average international benchmark LPG rate and foreign exchange rate.
When international rates move up, the government provides a higher subsidy. But as per tax rules, GST on LPG has to be calculated at the market rate of the fuel. The government may choose to subsidise a part of the price but tax will have to be paid at market rates.
This has led to an increase in price.
On November 1, the non-subsidised or market price LPG rates went up by Rs 60 per cylinder to Rs 939. Because of the rise in dealer's commission, the price is now Rs 942.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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