The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has provided major relief to the states and union territories amid the current gas crisis. The government has increased the gas allocation to 50 per cent of the pre-crisis level. Under this, an additional 20 per cent of LPG will be supplied to the states from March 23.

Petroleum Secretary Dr Neeraj Mittal, in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all the states and union territories, said that the main objective of this additional allocation is to provide help to key sectors related to food supply and public welfare.

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Which areas will get priority?

  • Restaurants, dhabas and hotels
  • Industrial Canteen
  • Food processing and dairy units
  • Subsidised canteens run by state governments or local bodies
  • Community kitchens
  • 5 kg Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders for migrant workers

While additional fuel is being made available by the government, not everyone will benefit from the increase directly. The government has a very strict application process that must be followed to qualify for distribution and be included in fuel distribution quotas. Businesses that do not follow the application process cannot qualify for fuel distributed from these quotas.

Thus, in order to be eligible for the 50 per cent allocation of fuel, all commercial and industrial LPG users must register with an oil marketing company prior to using fuel. The OMCs will maintain a detailed database of commercial and industrial LPG users that will include their type of business and amount of usage.

Another condition commercial and industrial users must meet in order to qualify for LPG distribution is to apply for a piped natural gas connection to their City Gas Distribution company in the city where they are located. If commercial and industrial users submit an application for a piped natural gas connection and do not take proper steps to obtain a piped natural gas connection, they will not be eligible for commercial use of LPG.

Major changes are also being seen in India's LPG import figures during this period. According to the report of S&P Commodities at Sea (CAS), India's weekly LPG imports fell to 2,65,000 tonnes in the week ending March 19, which was 3,22,000 tonnes on March 5.

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The supply coming from West Asia (Gulf countries) has decreased to only 89,000 tonnes in the week of March 19, which is the lowest since January 2026. To compensate for this, imports from other countries like America have increased to 1,76,000 tonnes.

India typically imports about 60 per cent of its total LPG needs, 90 per cent of which comes from West Asia. However, given current conditions, US LPG shipments are rapidly arriving in India, surpassing traditional Gulf suppliers in volume. It is estimated that Indian oil companies could import 2.2 million tons of LPG from the US in 2026.