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As the war involving Israel, the United States (US) and Iran enters its fourth week and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, parts of India are turning to alternative cooking fuels amid tightening liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies. States such as Kerala, Gujarat and Maharashtra are increasingly adopting biogas and other local energy options as the fuel crunch ripples through households and commercial kitchens.
In Kerala and the city of Mumbai, biogas is regaining attention as a practical alternative to LPG. Citing people associated with biogas plants, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported that demand for the technology has been rising, although adoption remains constrained by limited government subsidies. Biogas produced from organic waste and compressed into a chemically clean form has been promoted by policymakers as a way to reduce fossil fuel dependence.
“The increasing cost and shortage of LPG is making people seek out other fuel sources, including biogas,” Joseph Thiruvathukkal, who installed a household biogas plant two decades ago, told TNIE. Installations declined after the COVID-19 pandemic but have recently begun to recover. Alfred Bernad, managing director of Bio Flame, a Thiruvananthapuram-based company, told the newspaper that more than 20,000 plants have been installed in the state in the past five years and that the company is seeing a steady increase in customers. According to Bernad, usage patterns differ across regions: about 80 per cent of plants in urban areas are used mainly for composting biodegradable waste, while rural installations are primarily used for cooking fuel.
The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) is also promoting bioenergy under the National Policy on Biofuels 2018. The programme includes plans to establish 195 compressed biogas (CBG) plants nationwide, including seven in Kerala, to boost production of renewable gas from organic waste.
Kerala’s push toward decentralised waste processing has also reinforced interest in biogas. In April 2024, the National Green Tribunal directed the state to adopt the “Goa model” of solid-waste management, which emphasises decentralised segregation, door-to-door collection and scientific processing through integrated facilities with a 16-way waste segregation system designed to reduce landfill use and support circular-economy solutions such as waste-to-energy systems.
In Mumbai, several institutions with existing waste-to-gas systems say their facilities are helping them manage the supply uncertainty. Officials at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences told Mumbai Mirror that their biogas facility is acting as a buffer during the LPG shortage. The campus operates two plants capable of processing 500 kg of food waste daily each, currently handling about 250 kg per plant and producing around 25 kg of biogas a day, meeting roughly 10 per cent of the campus’s cooking fuel needs. Authorities at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay said their waste management system has helped reduce LPG consumption, though hostel kitchens have temporarily simplified menus to conserve fuel.
Across rural Gujarat, communities are also experimenting with local renewable energy solutions. According to Times of India, projects range from solar-steam kitchens feeding thousands near Vadodara to dung-based cooking gas systems in villages such as Mujkuva near Anand and parts of Kutch, helping insulate rural communities from the fuel crunch.
The shortage reflects India’s heavy dependence on imported LPG. Data from MoPNG shows that the country consumes around 31 million tonne (mt) of LPG annually, while domestic production stands at only 13 mt. Imports have risen sharply, from about 6 mt in FY12 to roughly 21 mt by FY25, meeting more than 93 per cent of the growth in consumption. Over the same period, LPG consumers increased from 14.86 crore (148.6 million) in 2015 to 33.05 crore (330.5 million) in 2025, largely due to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which expanded access to cooking gas from about 62 per cent of households in 2016 to nearly universal coverage today.
However, the country imports around 65 per cent of its LPG, mostly from West Asia, leaving it vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions. The current conflict, which began on February 28, has halted ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade, including about half of India’s LNG imports and most of its LPG shipments. Since March 16, three Indian-flagged vessels — two carrying LPG and one carrying crude — have reached Gujarat, but around 21 ships remain stalled, keeping supplies tight.
The government has introduced temporary measures to ease the shortage. On March 13, the central government approved an additional 48,000 kilolitres of kerosene for distribution through the public distribution system to support low-income households. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has also asked state pollution control boards to allow restaurants and hotels to temporarily switch to alternative fuels such as biomass, fuel pellets, kerosene and coal for a month while prioritising LPG supplies for households and essential services.
Energy experts say the crisis also highlights India’s limited LPG storage capacity. According to Brigadier Advitya Madan, writing in Telangana Today, the country has only two underground LPG storage caverns — one in Mangaluru and another in Visakhapatnam — with a combined capacity of about 1.6 lakh (0.16 million) tonnes, equivalent to just two days of national consumption. The Visakhapatnam cavern was commissioned in 2007, while the Mangaluru facility became operational in 2025 and can store about 80,000 tonnes, roughly one day’s demand. India consumes about 80,000 tonnes of LPG daily, of which 85 per cent is used by households, meaning even a week-long disruption could significantly strain supplies.
Concerns about India’s limited reserves have previously been flagged by the International Energy Agency, which has recommended expanding strategic LPG storage to match growing demand.
Analysts also warn that the country’s heavy reliance on imported fuels increases vulnerability to global shocks. Sunil Mani, policy adviser at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), said the ongoing West Asia crisis shows how dependence on imports exposes India to supply disruptions, geopolitical tensions and shipping constraints. India’s planned expansion of piped natural gas connections, targeting 120 million households by 2030, could further increase reliance on imported gas.
Import dependence also exposes households to price volatility. Sudden spikes in global fuel prices can increase the cost of LPG and piped natural gas, raising subsidy burdens or household energy expenses. According to Mani, volatile LPG prices also pose health risks: if fuel becomes unaffordable, low-income households may revert to cooking with biomass, reversing recent gains in clean cooking adoption.
To sustain progress while reducing these risks, he said India will need to diversify its cooking-energy mix. The IISD’s February 2026 report, “India’s Clean Cooking Shift,” found that electric cooking was already about 15 per cent cheaper than LPG, and after a recent Rs 60 increase in the price of a 14.2-kg cylinder, electric cooking is now roughly 20 per cent cheaper for many households.
Encouraging urban households with reliable electricity to switch to electric cooking could ease pressure on LPG demand while ensuring supplies remain available for low-income households supported by programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Over the longer term, gradually scaling up electric cooking and biogas could reduce LPG demand by up to 50 per cent by 2050, strengthening India’s clean-cooking transition and overall energy security.