LPG customer base dips after a decade

India's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) customer base declined for the first time in over a decade, according to data released by the oil ministry. Between April and August, the number of households using LPG fell by 6.2 million, bringing the total to 327.7 million at the start of September. The Ujjwala scheme, which provides LPG connections to poor households, saw a drop of 0.6 million to 105.7 million customers.

Growth in LPG adoption had been strong over the past decade, with the active customer base more than doubling from 148.6 million in 2015-16 to 333.9 million at the beginning of the current fiscal year. However, this expansion slowed as the Iran war disrupted LPG supplies from the Gulf region, which previously accounted for about 90% of India's imports.

To address the supply constraints, oil marketing companies halted new connections and began removing inactive customers through Aadhaar-based biometric verification. In addition, the government has encouraged the switch to natural gas in areas with access to piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure. Southern India experienced the steepest decline, with 2.63 million LPG households leaving the market.