In a move that is bound to raise the hackles of a sizeable number of consumers, the government has declared that those who earned over Rs. 10 lakh in the previous financial year will be ineligible for LPG subsidy from January.

“The government has decided that the benefit of the LPG subsidy will not be available for LPG consumers if the consumer or his/her spouse had a taxable income of more than Rs. 10,00,000/- during the previous financial year computed as per the Income Tax Act, 1961,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a release on Monday.

At present, all households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg at the subsidised rate of Rs. 419.26. The market price is Rs. 608 a cylinder.

There are 16.35 crore LPG consumers in the country, according to the government, of whom 14.78 crore receive the subsidy directly in their bank accounts.

Such a decision will likely affect at least 60 lakh people, if one were to go only by the number of people who filed their returns in the government’s e-filing portal. The actual number would be much more. It would save the government Rs. 113 crore.

The government had also launched a scheme for people to give up their subsidies so that the less privileged would benefit. So far, 57.50 lakh LPG consumers have opted out.