By selling an item for $\text{₹}198$, Souvik made a loss of $12\%$. By how much should he have raised the price to make a profit of $8\%$?

Let the Cost Price ($\text{CP}$) be $\text{₹}100\%$.
Selling price at a loss of $12\%=100\%-12\%=88\%$

Given that:

$$88\%=\text{₹}198$$

$$1\%=\frac{198}{88}=\text{₹}2.25$$

The Cost Price ($\text{CP}$) $=100\times 2.25=\text{₹}225$.

To make a profit of $8\%$, the required Selling Price (${\text{SP}}_2$) is:

$${\text{SP}}_2=108\%\text{ of CP}=1.08\times 225=\text{₹}243$$

The amount by which the price should be raised is:

$$\text{Increase in price}={\text{SP}}_2-{\text{SP}}_1=243-198=\text{₹}45$$