The rise in crude oil prices due to the ongoing war in the Middle East has started impacting inflation in India. As a result, expenses in many consumer-related sectors increased since the beginning of March. Pressure on the household budget increased due to increase in the cost of air travel, LPG, hotel food, petrol-diesel and food delivery services. According to experts, the rise in crude oil prices and the pressure in the international supply chain have caused this rise in prices.
Air travel costs increased due to changes in airlines’ fuel surcharges. Air India implemented fuel surcharge of ₹399 per ticket on domestic flights from March 12. A maximum surcharge of $200 (approximately ₹18,324) is imposed for international flights.
IndiGo also changed the ticket price structure by imposing additional charges in several ways. The fares per sector for India and Indian sub-region domestic flights have been fixed at ₹425, for Middle East ₹900, for South Asia and China ₹1,800, for Africa and West Asia ₹1,800, for Europe ₹2,300.
Akasa Air implemented fuel surcharge ranging from ₹199 to ₹1,300 on domestic and international flights from March 15, resulting in a direct increase in passenger costs.
There was also an increase in LPG prices. In the month of March, the price of domestic LPG cylinder was increased by ₹ 60 and the booking period was increased to 25 days. Due to increase in commercial cylinder prices, the expenses of hotels and restaurants also increased. As a result, many hotels raised food prices, which increased consumer expenses.
There were also changes in fuel prices. According to oil companies’ data, prices of premium petrol brands like Speed and Power increased by ₹ 2.09 per litre. Industrial diesel price increased by ₹ 22.03 per liter and currently stands at ₹ 109.59. This diesel is mainly used in heavy transport vehicles and industrial machines.
State wise petrol prices are as follows: ₹ 109.31, Arunachal Pradesh ₹ 92.66, Assam ₹ 98.81, Bihar ₹ 106.95, Delhi ₹ 94.77, Gujarat ₹ 94.49, Karnataka ₹ 103.62, Kerala ₹ 106.08, Maharashtra ₹ 104.64, Tamil Nadu ₹ 102.18, Telangana ₹ 108.90 and Andhra Pradesh ₹ 108.90. Litre.
Food delivery platforms also made changes to their pricing structures. Zomato increased the platform fee per order by ₹2.40 to ₹14.90. This decision was taken due to increase in operational expenses due to increase in LPG and restaurant costs, due to which the overall bill price of consumers increased.
The cumulative effect of all these price increases increased daily expenses. Travel expenses increased due to increased air fares, home cooking expenses increased due to increase in LPG prices. Increase in food prices in hotels and restaurants as well as increase in petrol, diesel and food delivery charges increased the overall cost of living.
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