LPG reaches rural India, but refills remain a hurdle

India's rural households are making strides in adopting LPG, yet challenges persist in the form of refill costs and delivery logistics according to three studies by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). While 73 percent of rural households use LPG within a 90-day period, 23 percent rely exclusively on it, with half still predominantly using firewood.

Informal connections purchased through local shops and roadside dealers, often at higher rates, fill the gap left by limited awareness and weak delivery networks.

Migrant workers encounter significant barriers, with 79 percent lacking a formal connection and fewer than 4 percent enrolled in the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). This policy, introduced in 2021, allows for simplified self-declarations, yet its impact is limited.

Prarthana Borah, a Fellow at CEEW, emphasized that clean air is intrinsically linked to how people cook, work, and live. The studies reveal that providing an LPG connection is merely the first step. Affordability, reliability, and sustainability of cooking fuels remain critical factors. India's clean air agenda must consider whether clean cooking is affordable, reliable, and used sustainably.

Affordability emerges as a universal challenge. At a price of Rs 400 per 14.2 kg cylinder, at least 80 percent of respondents indicate they would switch exclusively to LPG, with a median willingness to pay of Rs 500, significantly below the subsidized PMUY rate of Rs 642. In urban informal settlements, while 70 percent use LPG exclusively, 31 percent of those without formal connections face rejection due to missing address proofs, leading 11 percent to pay informally Rs 1,040 against the retail cost of Rs 803.

Among migrants residing in open spaces, 70 percent rely on solid fuels, while informal users pay Rs 71 per kg, exceeding formal rates by over 20 percent. Abhishek Kar, a Fellow at CEEW and co-author of the studies, commented, "Clean cooking policy now has to move from connection numbers to sustained use. For rural households, refill affordability and doorstep delivery matter most; for urban poor households, documentation and payment innovations such as micro-payments are needed; and for migrants, additional subsidy and awareness are the missing links."

To address these disparities, the CEEW studies suggest raising the PMUY subsidy by approximately Rs 200 per cylinder. Recommendations also include targeted migrant enrolment drives, the implementation of smart-meter kiosk pilots, and differentiated distributor commissions to enhance rural doorstep access.