{"id":68813,"date":"2026-03-12T18:33:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=68813"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:34:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:04:43","slug":"india-lpg-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-03-2026\/india-lpg-shortage","title":{"rendered":"Why is India staring at LPG Shortage?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, disruptions are being reported in the supply of <strong>liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)<\/strong> cylinders in several Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About LPG<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a <strong>highly flammable, energy-rich, and clean-burning fuel<\/strong> composed mainly of <strong>propane and butane<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is obtained during <strong>crude oil refining or natural gas processing<\/strong> and is stored under pressure as a liquid in steel cylinders for <strong>household cooking, heating, and automotive use<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oil Marketing Companies such as IOC and BPCL produce 40% of India\u2019s LPG requirement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why the Disruption<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Geopolitical Risk: <\/strong>India imports about <strong>60 percent <\/strong>of its LPG consumption and out of these imports about <strong>90 percent<\/strong> come through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, which has been impacted due to current happenings (US and Israel&#8217;s war with Iran).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e1e0dd\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"635\" height=\"564\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-65.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-68814\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e1e0dd; width:295px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-65.png 635w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-65-300x266.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Infrastructural Weakness: <\/strong>India\u2019s LPG supply system is largely designed for continuous operational flow rather than large-scale stockpiling. For long-term storage, the country currently has <strong>two underground LPG storage caverns<\/strong> located at <strong>Mangaluru<\/strong> and <strong>Visakhapatnam<\/strong>, with a <strong>combined capacity of about 1.4 lakh tonnes<\/strong>, which is limited compared to national consumption.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Surge in Domestic Demand: <\/strong>According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India\u2019s LPG imports increased threefold between 2011-12 and 2024-25, reaching nearly 20 million tonnes.\u00a0 The expansion has been driven partly by the <strong>Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)<\/strong>, under which nearly <strong>10 crore LPG connections<\/strong> have been added since 2017.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India now has about <strong>33 crore domestic LPG connections<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ripplings Effects of an LPG Shortage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Impact on Households: <\/strong>Nearly 87 percent of India\u2019s LPG consumption is used in the domestic sector, mainly for cooking in household kitchens.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Industrial Implications: <\/strong>A number of industries\u2014including textile, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural equipment manufacturing\u2014use LPG in boilers for processes such as heating, sterilisation, and dyeing.<strong> <\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Restaurants, hotels, and catering services depend heavily on commercial LPG cylinders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supply Chain and Transport Costs: <\/strong>A journey that normally takes about four days from Gulf ports can extend to nearly 25 days if ships reroute around Africa to avoid the conflict zone.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Such detours increase <strong>freight charges and insurance premiums<\/strong>, raising the overall cost of LPG imports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Macroeconomic Impact: <\/strong>India is the <strong>second-largest consumer of LPG<\/strong> in the world. Analysts estimate that every $10 increase in global crude prices can expand India\u2019s current account deficit by roughly $9 billion, putting pressure on the country\u2019s external balance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Response<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government has taken several measures to manage the emerging shortage and stabilise supply.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/11-03-2026\/essential-commodities-act-gas\"><strong>Essential Commodities Act<\/strong> has been invoked to prioritise LPG supply<\/a> for <strong>households, hospitals, and essential services<\/strong>, while restricting commercial distribution in some areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Refineries have been directed to <strong>increase LPG production<\/strong>, leading to about a <strong>25 percent rise in output<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>State governments have been asked to ensure <strong>security and smooth functioning of LPG supply chains<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the same time, India has been attempting to <strong>diversify its energy procurement sources<\/strong>, purchasing crude oil from more than <strong>40 countries worldwide<\/strong> to reduce dependence on any single region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The emerging LPG shortage highlights the broader challenge of <strong>energy security in a geopolitically uncertain world<\/strong>. While India has significantly expanded LPG access through welfare schemes such as the <strong>Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana<\/strong>, the country remains vulnerable to disruptions in global energy supply chains.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strengthening Strategic LPG storage capacity, diversifying energy imports, and promoting alternative fuels will be crucial for ensuring stable and sustainable energy access for millions of households and businesses in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/surging-lpg-consumption-and-inadequate-storage-put-india-in-a-bind\/article70731586.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, disruptions are being reported in the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in several Indian cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About LPG <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a highly flammable, energy-rich, and clean-burning fuel composed mainly of propane and butane. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It is obtained during crude oil refining or natural gas processing and is stored under pressure as a liquid in steel cylinders for household cooking, heating, and automotive use. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-03-2026\/india-lpg-shortage \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68813"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68817,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68813\/revisions\/68817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}