LPG gas, which was limited to cities, has today become common in village kitchens also. Coming out of the smoke of earthen stoves and wood-coal, crores of women of the country are now cooking clean, safe and convenient food with the help of LPG cylinders. This change in the last two and a half decades is not only due to the implementation of government schemes, but also to the changing social thinking.
However, during this period there has been a continuous increase in the prices of LPG cylinders. The price at which gas cylinder was available 25 years ago has increased manifold today, due to which the burden on the common consumer has also increased. On the other hand, the government implemented many subsidies and welfare schemes from time to time to reduce the impact of this increasing expenditure. The facilities ranging from Ujjwala Yojana to Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) proved to be a milestone in providing relief to the poor and middle class and widening the access to clean fuel.
In such a situation, the question arises that how much has the price of LPG cylinder actually increased in the last 25 years? What steps did the government take to make LPG cheap and accessible and what impact did it have on the lives of common people? To understand these aspects, it is important that we take a look at the data, policies and ground reality.
1989-2000: Price reached 57.60 to 232.25
If we go back a little more than 25 years, according to the report of New Indian Express, in the year 1989, the price of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder was Rs 57.60. Years passed and the prices of LPG cylinders kept increasing. In the year 2000, there was a sudden jump in it and it increased from Rs 146 to Rs 196.55 and at the end of 2000 this price reached Rs 232.25.
2001-2010: Fluctuation seen in prices
The next 10 years were very important in terms of LPG prices, as the price increased to Rs 346.30 in 2009, however, it came down to Rs 279.70 in 2009 itself, which brought a lot of relief to the citizens. However, this happiness did not last long as the prices were increased again in 2010, reaching Rs 345.35.
2011 to 2025: Huge increase in the price of LPG
According to Good Returns data, LPG gas prices have increased rapidly since 2011. In the year 2014, the price had reached Rs 1241, but in 2015-16 it fell to Rs 606 due to subsidy adjustment. It remained at Rs 594 till 2020, then with fluctuations after Covid it became stable at Rs 803-853 in Delhi in 2024-25. Overall there was 4-5 times increase in 25 years, but subsidies gave relief to the poor. At the same time, if we talk about the current rate, the price of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder at Good Returns is currently Rs 852.50.
Government subsidy schemes reach the poor
The government took many steps to make LPG accessible. The ‘Give It Up’ campaign was started in 2015, in which more than 1 crore people voluntarily gave up their subsidy, which benefited the poor. Also, in 2015, PAHAL-DBT scheme was launched, which transfers subsidy directly to the bank account from Aadhaar. This resulted in a saving of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Ujjwala scheme has also played a big role in connecting the remaining gas connections.
LPG subsidy policies evolved from universal subsidy to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) since the 2000s, with prevention of diversion and prioritization of the poor as the main goals. There have been rapid reforms since 2012, with schemes like subsidy capping and Aadhaar-linked payments coming into play. From 2000 to 2012, subsidies were universal, but diversion, i.e. commercial use of domestic cylinders, was common. Kelkar Committee recommended in 2012, due to which it was decided to reduce the subsidy by 25%. Let us see what changes have happened in LPG subsidy policies over time. Let us understand them in detail.
PAHAL-DBT
DBTL scheme started in the year 2013, PAHAL DBT scheme, which was launched across the country in 2015. This is an initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas so that LPG subsidy can be transferred directly to the bank accounts of consumers. The objective of this scheme is to eliminate leakage, prevent duplicate connections and increase transparency in subsidy distribution.
How does it work?
LPG cylinders are sold at market price and the subsidy amount is transferred directly to the bank accounts of consumers. Consumers get subsidy in two ways. Aadhaar Transfer Compliant Mode and Bank Transfer Compliant Mode i.e. subsidy is deposited in the registered bank account without linking Aadhaar.
Its objective is to eliminate middlemen and fake LPG connections, to ensure that the benefits reach the genuine consumers. It encourages beneficiaries to open bank accounts, thereby connecting them to the formal financial system. By the year 2024, more than 30.19 crore LPG consumers are registered under PAHAL. The scheme has saved the government more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore by reducing subsidy wastage and eliminating non-eligible consumers. Aadhaar-based authentication helped in removing duplicate beneficiaries and fake or fraudulent LPG connections from the system.
Give It Up Scheme
The government launched the Give It Up campaign in 2015 to make LPG connections accessible to more people and actually increase the reach of beneficiaries. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ‘Urja Sangam’ global energy summit. This campaign encouraged affluent LPG consumers to give up their subsidy of their own free will. 10 million people gave up subsidies in the first year of the campaign, but this slowed to 11.5 million by 2025.
What is Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana?
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is the most popular scheme among all the schemes run by the government to provide maximum LPG connections. It was started in the year 2016. The objective of PMUY is to provide LPG connections without deposit to adult women from economically weaker families. The scheme promotes clean and safe cooking fuels, reduces health risks from indoor pollution and reduces dependence on traditional fuels.
Beneficiaries of this scheme get Rs 2,200 for 14.2 kg connection and Rs 1,300 for 5 kg connection from FY 2023-24. Apart from this, interest free loans are also available for purchasing gas stoves, thereby ensuring its accessibility to more people.
How was Ujjwala scheme implemented?
The Ujjwala scheme was mainly implemented in 3 phases, the first of which was between 2016 and 2019, in which the target of first 80 million i.e. 8 crore LPG connections was set, which was achieved by September 2019. At the same time, under Ujjwala 2.0, additional 16 million connections were provided by December 2022. Apart from this, the third phase is between the years 2023-2026, in which the government approved 7.5 million more connections, the target was achieved by July 2024. By January 2025, a total of 103.3 million PMUY connections have been issued across India. This means that at present more than 10 crore people are taking advantage of this scheme.
The effect of the Ujjwala scheme run by the government is being seen today. Through this, women in rural villages have got gas connections and the subsidy also gives them the courage to refill gas frequently. Earlier, women in the village mostly cooked food on the stove. But with this scheme it has improved to a great extent. Ujjwala’s connections have reached every home in every village. Also, for refilling, vehicles loaded with cylinders come to the village on just one call.
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