On the face of it, cutting back on the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders may seem a big blow to the family budget.
Home makers are, however, appealing to their men folk to cut down a bit on their out-of-pocket expenses to make ends meet in the family budget.
“The tax on cigarettes and liquor is so much that all men have to do is save a bit there by spending a little less to make up for the additional home expenses,” says Kamala Raghavan, a housewife.
The tax component on cigarettes and liquor, popularly called ‘sin tax’ is so high that any cutback in those expenses that mostly men are responsible for would help enormously in family budgets.
Home makers may never know the full extent of these expenses as men who as earning members tend to somehow find the money for their little indulgences.
A bit of control should help the bigger cause in touch economic times, say a few more middle class home makers who have the most reason to fear these hikes.
Families are more nuclear than they used to be and gas is not used as much these days at homes.
“The difference between using more than a single cylinder in a month would cost perhaps Rs 350 more than it used to. With a little care, families can balance budgets by cutting out some needless expenses. Of course, the total cost of the impact of the diesel hike might add more strain to household budgets,” says Karra Prem, a chartered accountant.
The impact of the diesel price hike may be far more than that of the removal of the subsidy on cylinders beyond six a year.