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Only 23% of households in six-state rural survey used LPG exclusively

English हिंदी ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം தமிழ் తెలుగు

First brief 8 Sep, 2:56 am IST Updated 8 Sep, 2:56 am IST 1 development 2 min read Latest ↓

File photograph of an LPG stove in Tamil Nadu; not one of the surveyed households — Photo: தகவலுழவன் / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where it stands

Only 23% of rural households in a six-state survey cooked exclusively with LPG. The Council on Energy, Environment and Water released the findings on 7 September 2026. Researchers interviewed 2,222 households between November 2024 and January 2025. About 73% had used LPG in the previous 3 months, but 50% mainly used firewood. The 23% figure refers to all surveyed households, not only LPG users. Cost and delivery barriers help explain the gap between using LPG sometimes and relying on LPG alone. The findings describe this sample, not every rural household in India.

Background

Liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, is a cooking fuel supplied in cylinders. A connection gives a household access to LPG. Regular refills are needed to keep cooking with the fuel. A household may use LPG alongside firewood, dung or other fuels. Researchers call this fuel stacking. The survey covered Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Fieldwork predates the 2026 West Asia supply disruption.

How it developed

November 2024–January 2025: fieldwork

How it started
Researchers interview primary cooks in 2,222 rural households

CEEW surveyed rural households in 6 states between November 2024 and January 2025. The primary cook answered the questions. The survey examined fuel use, refill costs and delivery access. The published results distinguish all households from LPG-using households. The fieldwork is older than the report’s September 2026 release.

Business Standard Council on Energy, Environment and Water
7 September 2026; release time not supplied

New fact
The study separates connection access from sustained LPG use

CEEW released the study on 7 September 2026. Of all 2,222 households, 73% used LPG and 23% used LPG exclusively. Among 1,629 LPG-using households, 47% received doorstep delivery. Among 593 non-users, 70% cited refill cost as a barrier. These percentages have different denominators. The study’s proposed subsidy changes are recommendations, not new government entitlements.

Business Standard Council on Energy, Environment and Water

Why it matters for UPSC

GS2 · Welfare deliveryGS3 · Household energyPrelims · Survey interpretation

For GS2, evaluate welfare delivery through sustained use as well as initial access. For GS3, connect household energy choices with affordability and local delivery. For Prelims, distinguish the whole survey sample from the smaller group of LPG users.

Key terms

Fuel stackingUsing more than 1 cooking fuel in the same household. A family may use LPG for some meals and firewood for others. Having an LPG connection therefore does not establish exclusive LPG use.

Exclusive LPG useCooking with LPG alone during the survey’s reference period. The reported 23% uses all 2,222 surveyed households as its denominator.

Survey denominatorThe group used as the base for calculating a percentage. A finding about all 2,222 households cannot be treated as a finding about only the 1,629 LPG-using households.

Sources (2)

Council on Energy, Environment and Water · Subsidised, Not Sustained: rural cooking-fuel usage in six states (7 September 2026)8 Sep, 2:53 am
Business Standard · Rural LPG use and the CEEW survey (7 September 2026)8 Sep, 2:53 am