The side effects of Iran War are now visible all over the country and due to rising inflation, the budget of common people has started deteriorating.
The Iran War, which started at the end of February, has started showing its side effects in India. Due to the continuous increase in the prices of crude oil and the subsequent crisis in the supply of fertilizer and gas, there has been an increase of 8 percent in the prices of petrol and diesel in the last two weeks. On the other hand, the price of CNG has increased 4 times. These two things are not the only thing that contribute to spoiling the household budget.
A few weeks ago, milk prices were increased by two major milk companies of the country. Amul and Mother Dairy had increased the prices of milk by Rs 3 per kg. After that, all the dairy companies of the country had increased the prices of milk in their respective areas.
On the other hand, many FMCG companies have either increased the prices of their goods or have started reducing the weight of those goods and passing the burden of inflation on the common people. An attempt has been made to put a burden on the pockets of common people by varying the prices or weight of many essential household items, oil, soap, edible oil etc. On Saturday, along with the prices of CNG, the prices of PNG have also been increased.
This is a clear indication that in the coming days, an increase in the prices of PNG may be seen in Delhi NCR also. Which was stable for the last one year. On the other hand, UP has further increased the problems of the common people by imposing a fuel surcharge of 10 percent on the electricity prices. In the coming days, further increase in electricity prices may be seen in other states of the country.
Increase in milk prices
Before petrol and diesel, milk companies had done the work of spoiling the budget of common people. From May 14, Amul and Mother Dairy had increased the prices of milk by Rs 2 per kg. This is the second increase made by these two dairy cooperative societies in 13 months. After that, other regional dairy companies of the country have also increased the prices of milk.
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells milk and milk products under the ‘Amul’ brand, had said in a statement that it has increased the prices of fresh packaged milk by Rs 2 per liter across the most sold milk varieties/packs across India, effective from May 14. Apart from this, Mother Dairy also said that it has increased the consumer prices of its liquid milk varieties by Rs 2 per liter.
GCMMF had last increased milk prices on May 1, 2025, while Mother Dairy had increased prices in April 2025. This price increase by India’s two largest organized milk sellers will further increase food inflation. Food inflation has already increased in recent weeks due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Increase in prices of petrol and diesel
There has been a significant increase in the prices of petrol and diesel in the country. From May 15 till now, the price of petrol and diesel in the country has seen an increase of 8 percent. On May 15, the price of petrol and diesel was increased by Rs 3. After that, on May 19, the price of petrol and diesel was increased by 90 paise per liter. On May 23, the prices of petrol and diesel increased by Rs 0.87 and Rs 0.91 per liter.
After that, on May 25, the price of petrol was increased by Rs 2.61 and the price of diesel was increased by Rs 2.71 per liter. This means that in two weeks the price of petrol has seen an increase of Rs 7.38 per liter and that of diesel by Rs 7.52 per liter. According to Jefferies report, there may be an increase of Rs 7 to 8 in the price of petrol and diesel in the coming days.
CNG price also increased
There has been an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel. On the other hand, there has been a rise in the prices of CNG. If we look at the figures, since May 15 till now Delhi NCR has seen an increase of 4 times. During this period, an increase of Rs 6 per kg has been seen in the prices of CNG. If we look at the data, on May 15, an increase of Rs 2 per kg was seen in the prices of CNG. After that, on May 17, the price was increased by Re 1 per kilogram.
After a few days, there was another increase of Rs 1. Then on May 25, it was increased by Rs 2. On Saturday, once again the price of CNG has been increased by Rs 2 per kg in Mumbai metropolis. After which the price of CNG has become Rs 86 per kg. In Delhi too, CNG prices have reached a peak at Rs 83.
LPG and PNG prices
After the start of Iran War, the prices of domestic gas i.e. LPG and PNG have not seen the same increase as has been seen in the prices of other fuels. If we look at the figures, after the Iran War, the price of domestic gas cylinder has increased only once. That too on March 7, an increase of Rs 60 was seen in the price of domestic gas cylinder. After which, for the first time after August 2023, the price of gas cylinder crossed Rs 900 in the country’s capital Delhi.
On the other hand, there has been no change in the price of commercial LPG since April, but in all four metros of the country including Delhi, the prices have crossed Rs 2000. In the months of March and April, an increase of Rs 338 has been seen in the price of commercial gas cylinder. By the way, the price of commercial gas cylinder has increased 6 times from the month of December to April i.e. in 5 months.
On the other hand, there has been no change in the price of PNG in Delhi NCR in the last one year. But on May 30, PNG prices in Mumbai have been increased by 50 paise. This means that in the coming days, an increase in the prices of PNG may be seen in Delhi NCR also.
Electricity burden on common people’s pockets
On the other hand, the burden of electricity prices on the pockets of common people has also started increasing. After the Iran War, first in Madhya Pradesh and now in Uttar Pradesh, the surcharge on electricity bills of common people has been increased by 10 percent. According to the latest information, now the people of Uttar Pradesh will have to pay additional 10 percent fuel surcharge on their electricity. This means that if someone’s electricity bill is Rs 1000, then at the rate of 10 percent the electricity bill will be Rs 1100.
Before this, in Madhya Pradesh also the burden of electricity bills has been increased first in April and then in May. Following the 4.8 per cent increase implemented from April 1 for the current financial year, customers will also have to pay an additional ‘Fuel and Electricity Purchasing Surcharge’ (FPPAS) of 5.36 per cent on electricity used between April 24 and May 23.
Due to this, the total increase in electricity prices during this period has been more than 10 percent. According to experts, there is a lot of pressure to increase surcharge and cess in the country’s capital Delhi and other states also. The demand for electricity has increased significantly in the country. In such a situation, such increase can be seen in other states of the country in the coming days.
Increase in prices of FMCG products
According to a report by Systematics Research, the prices of everyday essential consumer products are likely to increase further in the coming time, because companies are constantly facing the pressure of increasing prices of raw materials. It has been said in the report that companies of different categories have increased the prices of their products by an average of 3-7 percent in the last one-two months. The biggest reason for this is the average 8-10 percent increase in the cost of raw materials.
According to the report, there is every possibility of an increase in the prices of food items and home and personal care (HPC) products or a reduction in their quantity (gramage), as companies are trying to compensate for the rising input costs. According to the report, amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, palm oil prices increased by 11 percent, while Brent crude oil prices increased by 32 percent. The report also mentions a huge increase in the cost of packaging, with HDPE (high-density polyethylene) prices increasing by 56 percent.
High-density polyethylene prices reflect the market cost of an extremely durable, petroleum-derived thermoplastic polymer. It is one of the most widely used plastics in the world, serving as an essential raw material for manufacturing shampoo bottles, detergent cans, jerry cans, bottle caps and flexible packaging in the food and beverage and home and personal care (HPC) sectors.
