Monthly budget up 10% in three months amid rising fuel prices: Survey

A total of 92 per cent of households in a survey have said their monthly household expenses have risen in the last three months, as prices of petrol, diesel, edible oil, household essentials, and other related products and services shot up. 

Seventy per cent of those surveyed saw at least 10 per cent increase in their monthly budget, while 55 per cent expect prices to go up by another 10 per cent in the next three months. 

The survey, conducted by Local Circles, received more than 23,500 responses from over 12,000 households across 323 districts. 

Local Circles is a community social media platform that enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions. Local Circles said the reduction in prices of petrol and diesel will likely have a major impact on household spending. 

The Centre and state governments must evaluate how relief equivalent to at least Rs 10 per litre can be given with a combination of central excise and state value added tax so that the negative impact of rising fuel prices on household budgets can be reduced to a certain extent.