More Indians Using LPG: 30% Jump in Regular Clean Fuel Use

More than 8 million Indian families have started regularly using clean cooking fuel over the past five years, a sign that access to gas cylinders is slowly translating into healthier cooking habits across the country.

Under the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana program, connections using three or more LPG cylinders annually jumped 30% between 2021 and 2026. In Karnataka alone, average consumption per household climbed from 4.5 cylinders to 5.5 cylinders yearly, a 21% increase that means less exposure to harmful cooking smoke for millions of women and children.

The program provides free gas connections to low-income families who previously cooked with firewood and biomass fuels. Breathing smoke from traditional cooking methods causes serious health problems, especially respiratory illness in women and children who spend hours near cooking fires.

The data shows real behavioral change happening gradually. Families who received connections are increasingly choosing clean fuel over returning to wood and charcoal, even as prices fluctuate.

Karnataka saw particularly strong growth, with regular users increasing significantly across the state. The northern regions, which historically had lower connection rates, added many new households to the program during this period.

The Bright Side

While headlines focused on families struggling with affordability, the bigger story hides in plain sight. Eight million more households now use clean cooking fuel regularly, protecting mothers and children from dangerous indoor air pollution.

Congress MP Mansoor Ali Khan noted the affordability challenge remains real. Some families still cannot refill cylinders regularly, with zero-refill cases increasing in certain states as the program expanded to reach more remote areas.

But the government data reveals something hopeful too. As the program matured and more connections were distributed, the percentage of families using LPG regularly actually grew. More households are finding ways to afford cleaner cooking, even without state subsidies available in neighboring states.

The shift matters beyond individual homes. Every family cooking with gas instead of wood means cleaner air, healthier lungs, and more time for women who once gathered firewood. It means children studying instead of hauling biomass, and forests experiencing less pressure.

The challenge ahead involves making clean fuel affordable enough that every connection becomes a regularly used lifeline, not just a one-time benefit gathering dust.