The fuel that was supposed to be affordable has crossed a line no one wanted to see.
In a city where compressed natural gas long served as the working person's refuge from costlier fuels, Delhi crossed a quiet but consequential threshold on Sunday — Rs 80 per kilogram — as two price hikes in 48 hours reflected a world reshaped by conflict thousands of miles away. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global energy trade once flowed freely, has driven crude oil past $100 a barrel, sending tremors through every import-dependent economy. India has cushioned the blow more than most nations, but cushions have edges, and those edges are felt most sharply by the auto-rickshaw driver, the cab operator, and the commuter who chose CNG precisely because it was supposed to be the affordable choice.
- CNG in Delhi breached Rs 80/kg for the first time after two consecutive hikes by IGL within 48 hours, a threshold that signals the erosion of the fuel's identity as the affordable alternative.
- A Strait of Hormuz blockade has effectively shut down 20% of global oil and gas trade, sending crude surging from $70 to over $100 per barrel and triggering fuel price increases across the world.
- India's government has deliberately slowed the pass-through of global price shocks — holding domestic increases to 3.2–3.4% against global hikes of 20–100% — but the relief is partial and the hikes keep arriving.
- Auto-rickshaw drivers, cab fleets, and daily commuters absorb each rupee increase directly, with no margin to spare, as petrol and diesel also rose simultaneously across the country.
- The ripple is widening: transportation costs feed into logistics, goods pricing, and household budgets already strained by food and rent inflation, raising the question of where the floor is.
On Sunday morning, Delhi's CNG price crossed Rs 80 per kilogram for the first time — a threshold that landed with particular weight on those for whom the fuel was never a preference but a necessity. Indraprastha Gas Limited raised prices by one rupee per kilogram effective 6 a.m., the second increase in two days. Forty-eight hours earlier, rates had already climbed by two rupees. For auto-rickshaw drivers, cab operators, and commuters who chose CNG to escape the cost of petrol and diesel, the back-to-back hikes offered no such escape.
The same Friday that IGL moved, the government raised petrol and diesel prices nationwide. In Delhi, both fuels rose by nearly three rupees per litre — petrol now at Rs 97.77, diesel at Rs 90.67. These numbers are not abstract for people whose livelihoods depend on moving passengers or goods through the city.
The cause traces to the Middle East, where escalating conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which nearly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade flows. Crude oil, which traded around $70 a barrel before the crisis, has now surpassed $100. The shock has reverberated through every energy-importing economy.
India has absorbed more of that shock than most. Where other nations have seen fuel prices rise by 20 to nearly 100 percent, India's increases have been held to 3.2–3.4 percent — a deliberate policy choice to cushion consumers and businesses. But cushions have limits, and the hikes keep arriving.
Domestic piped gas prices have held steady since April, but that offers little comfort to the transportation sector facing higher operating costs that will ripple outward into logistics, goods prices, and household budgets. For Delhi's drivers and daily commuters, the central question is whether this is a pause or a plateau — and the answer, for now, remains uncertain.
The price at the pump crossed a threshold on Sunday morning that no one in Delhi particularly wanted to see. Compressed natural gas, the fuel that has long served as the working person's alternative to petrol and diesel, hit Rs 80.09 per kilogram for the first time. Indraprastha Gas Limited, the company that supplies CNG across the capital, had raised prices by one rupee per kilogram effective 6 a.m. This was the second increase in as many days—just 48 hours earlier, on Friday, the company had already pushed rates up by two rupees per kilogram, bringing them to Rs 79.09. The back-to-back jumps landed hardest on those who depend on CNG not as a convenience but as an economic necessity: the auto-rickshaw drivers threading through Delhi's traffic, the cab operators running fleets on thin margins, the commuters who chose CNG because it was supposed to be the affordable option.
The timing of these hikes was not coincidental. On the same Friday that IGL raised CNG prices, the government announced increases in petrol and diesel across the country. In Delhi, both fuels went up by nearly three rupees per litre. Petrol now sells for Rs 97.77 per litre; diesel for Rs 90.67. These are not abstract numbers for people whose income depends on moving goods or passengers through the city. Every rupee added to the cost of fuel is a rupee that either comes out of their pocket or gets passed along to customers who are already stretched thin.
The proximate cause, according to government and industry explanations, traces back to the Middle East. Escalating tensions in that region have led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints. Nearly one-fifth of all global oil and gas trade flows through those waters. With that passage effectively closed, crude oil prices have surged dramatically. Before the conflict, crude was trading around $70 per barrel. It has now climbed past $100. That shock reverberates through every economy that imports energy, and India is no exception.
Yet the Indian government has managed to absorb much of that shock domestically. While other nations have seen fuel prices climb by 20 percent, 50 percent, even approaching 100 percent, India's increases have been comparatively restrained. Petrol prices rose by 3.2 percent; diesel by 3.4 percent. The government has essentially chosen to let domestic prices rise more slowly than global markets would dictate, cushioning the blow for consumers and businesses. That cushion, however, has limits. The hikes keep coming, and they keep hitting the same people hardest.
Domestic piped natural gas prices, by contrast, have held steady since April 1. But that stability offers little comfort to the millions who rely on CNG for their daily work. The transportation sector—taxis, auto-rickshaws, delivery vehicles, buses—will now face higher operating costs. Those costs will ripple outward: into logistics, into the price of goods moved across the city, into the household budgets of people already managing inflation in food and rent. The question now is whether these price increases will stabilize or whether the global energy crisis will continue to push them higher. For Delhi's working commuters and drivers, the answer matters more than most.
Notable Quotes
The back-to-back hikes are expected to impact daily commuters, cab drivers, auto-rickshaw operators, and private vehicle owners who depend on CNG as a relatively affordable fuel alternative.— Economic Times reporting on IGL price increases
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a blockade in the Middle East matter so much to someone taking an auto-rickshaw in Delhi?
Because nearly a fifth of the world's oil and gas moves through the Strait of Hormuz. When that passage closes, the supply tightens globally, crude prices spike, and India has to pay more to import the energy it needs. That cost gets passed down.
But the article says India's price increases are actually moderate compared to other countries. So isn't the government protecting people?
It is, to a degree. But protection has a limit. The government can absorb some of the shock, but not all of it. Eventually the increases still reach the person filling up a CNG tank or paying for a taxi ride. And for someone driving an auto-rickshaw eight hours a day, even a 3 percent increase compounds quickly.
Who feels this the most acutely?
The people for whom CNG was never a luxury choice. Auto drivers, cab operators, delivery workers—they chose CNG because it was cheaper than petrol or diesel. Now that advantage is shrinking. Their margins are already thin. Every rupee per kilogram matters.
Is there any relief in sight?
The article doesn't suggest any. The blockade in the Strait of Hormuz remains in place. Global crude is still over $100 a barrel. Until that geopolitical situation changes, the pressure on prices will likely continue.
What about the piped natural gas prices staying flat?
That's interesting—it suggests the government is trying to protect household consumers who use PNG for cooking and heating. But it doesn't help the people whose livelihoods depend on CNG as a transportation fuel.