Parliament Question: Subsidised LPG Refills under PMUY

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3151 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6th August, 2026 Subsidised LPG Refills under PMUY

3151. Ms Sayani Ghosh: पे(cid:282)ो(cid:871)लयम एवं (cid:292)ाकृ(cid:467)तक गैस मं(cid:287)ी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has restored the annual number of subsidised Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder refills available to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

(PMUY) after the temporary changes made during the West Asia conflict, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the present number of subsidised refills available annually to PMUY beneficiaries;

(c) the total number of PMUY beneficiaries, active consumers and the annual refill rate during the last five years, year-wise;

(d) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of the impact of subsidised LPG refills on household health, adoption of clean cooking fuel and reduction in the use of traditional fuels, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) whether the Government proposes to increase the number of subsidised refills or extend additional support to low-income households, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER पे(cid:282)ो(cid:871)लयम एवं (cid:292)ाकृ(cid:467)तक गैस मं(cid:287)ालय म(cid:581) रा(cid:207)यमं(cid:287)ी ((cid:302)ी सुरेश गोपी) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI)

(a) to (e): Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May, 2016 with an objective to provide deposit free LPG connection to adult women from poor households across the country. Year-wise details of PMUY connections (as of 31st March of every financial year)

and Per Connection Consumption for the last five years are given below:

Per Connection consumption (in terms of 14.2 Kg Total PMUY FY refills/consumer/Year) Connections (in crore) 2021-22 3.68 8.99 2022-23 3.71 9.56 2023-24 3.95 10.33 2024-25 4.47 10.33 2025-26 4.71 10.58

Source: IOCL on behalf of PSU OMCsThe Retail Selling Price of domestic LPG is being maintained at Rs. 942 per 14.2 Kg cylinder

(Delhi) since June 2026, which carried an implicit subsidy (under-recovery) of more than Rs 700 per 14.2 Kg cylinder in June 2026 and Rs 500 per cylinder during July 2026. Even for the month of August 2026, the RSP of 14.2 Kg cylinder carries an implicit subsidy of Rs. 188 per cylinder.

For more than 10.5 crore PMUY consumers, the effective price is only Rs. 642 per cylinder (upto 4 refills per year), after a targeted subsidy of Rs. 300 per cylinder.

Government have been ensuring availability of domestic LPG at affordable prices to households in the country for which Government have paid to the OMCs a compensation of Rs. 22,000 crore in FY 2022-23 and paying Rs. 30,000 crore during FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27. Even after the payment of this compensation, accumulated under-recoveries of the PSU OMCs on domestic LPG were more than Rs 51,000 crores as of 30th June 2026 itself.

Based on an assessment of FY 2025–26 refill consumption data, it has been observed that refill consumption patterns vary across PMUY beneficiary households, with a substantial proportion of beneficiaries availing up to four subsidised refills annually. Accordingly, Government has capped annual subsidized refill upto 4 refills of 14.2 Kg cylinder (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 Kg connections) to the PMUY consumers PMUY has had a significant positive impact on the lives of rural households, especially women and families in rural and remote areas including shift from traditional cooking methods that involve burning solid fuels like wood, dung and crop residues. The use of cleaner fuel lowers indoor air pollution, leading to improved respiratory health, particularly among women and children who are traditionally more exposed to household smoke.

According to a recent PMUY Evaluation Report by NITI Aayog (April 2026), 86.59% of PMUY households use LPG as their predominant primary cooking fuel, reflecting widespread adoption of clean cooking energy. The evaluation also found that 74.27% of surveyed PMUY beneficiaries reported a reduction in indoor air pollution after adopting LPG. In addition, a significant proportion of beneficiaries reported reduction in cough and breathlessness, reduced eye irritation and smoke inhalation, along with a decline in headaches and dizziness, highlighting the positive health benefits associated with LPG usage.

Separate evaluation studies by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) and IIT Kanpur have also highlighted the positive environmental and health impacts of PMUY. Their findings indicate that PMUY has contributed to reducing both ambient and household air pollution. The IIT Kanpur evaluation across six states further found that indoor air quality during cooking hours was nearly twice as good in LPG-using households compared to households relying on traditional chulhas, demonstrating significant health benefits, particularly for primary cooks.

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