NEW DELHI, Sept 29 — Petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas, will cost more from today.

The price hike which would fetch the government an additional revenue of Rs 4,000 crore has been kept moderate, a liberal dose of cut in import duty and excise has been affected to generate another 8,000 crore. The oil pool is expected to touch 23,600 crore by the end of this fiscal year, would be covered by issuance of bonds and financial instruments worth Rs 11,600 crore.

Prices of diesel, petrol and kerosene were increased by Rs 3 each per litre, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik told reporters at a late night press conference here.

The price of LPG was hiked by Rs 40 per cylinder.

The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was hiked by Rs 4 per litre.

Mr Naik also announced cuts in customs duty on petroleum products from 25 per cent to 20 per cent and on crude from 15 per cent to 10 per cent in a bid to bridge the burgeoning oil pool deficit.

The excise duty on petrol was halved from 32 per cent to 16 per cent and that of diesel from 16 per cent to 12 per cent.

Retail price of diesel has been increased by Rs 2.50 per litre in Delhi, Rs 3.02 in Mumbai, Rs 2.70 in Calcutta and Rs 2.75 in Chennai.

Retail prices of petrol was increased by Rs 2.38 per litre in Delhi, Rs 2.35 in Mumbai, Rs 2.70 in Calcutta and Rs 2.39 in Chennai.

Domestic cooking gas ex-storage price has been increased by Rs 36.20 per cylinder in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and Rs 39.25 in Calcutta.

Kerosene price have been hiked by Rs 2.81 per litre in Delhi and Chennai, Rs 2.85 in Mumbai and Rs 2.83 in Calcutta at the retail level. ATF prices have been increased by Rs 3.60 per litre in Delhi, Rs 3.76 in Mumbai and Calcutta and Rs 3.75 in Chennai.

Mr Naik said the prices would come into effect from midnight tonight.

He said the increase in the selling price of the five petro products would result in additional revenue of about Rs 7,580 crore per annum.

The oil pool account would get another Rs 4,000 crore from reduction in excise and import duties. Mr Naik said, adding that the balance deficit would be met by the Centre through instruments like oil bonds.

Mr Naik said diesel prices at present carried a subsidy of Rs 5.29 per litre and the government was passing on only Rs 1.85 per litre to the consumer on the ex-storage increase in price of diesel.

Though the ex-storage price of diesel has been increased to Rs 11.93 per litre from Rs 9.63, the remaining burden would be taken care of by the cut in excise duty.

While the ex-storage of petrol has been revised from Rs 15.40 per litre to Rs 19.00 per litre, the increase to consumers will be only Rs 1.25 per litre.

Despite the increase in ex-storage price of kerosene from Rs 4.50 per litre to Rs 7.00 there would still be a subsidy of Rs 1.21 per litre, Mr Naik said.