The heat of increasing tension in the Middle East is now being felt in India too. However, the Government of India has taken major decisions regarding the LPG supply system. In this context, the government has now tightened the booking rules to stop black marketing and hoarding of domestic cylinders. The government has directed oil companies (IOCL, HPCL, BPCL) to reserve the available stock for domestic (14.2 kg) cylinders first.
The Petroleum Ministry said that in view of the shortage of LPG on fuel supply, the government has issued orders to oil refineries to produce more LPG and use the excess production for domestic use.
In light of current geopolitical disruptions to fuel supply and constraints on supply of LPG, the Ministry has issued orders to oil refineries for higher LPG production and using such extra production for domestic LPG use.
The ministry has prioritized domestic LPG supply to
— Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas #MoPNG (@PetroleumMin) March 9, 2026
Changes in booking rules
The Ministry has given priority to the supply of LPG to households and has introduced an inter-booking period of 25 days to avoid hoarding and black marketing. Any booking made before this will be automatically rejected.
The ministry said that non-domestic supplies from imported LPG are being given priority to essential non-domestic sectors like hospitals and educational institutions. For supply of LPG to other non-domestic sectors, a committee of three executive officers of OMC has been constituted to review LPG supply to restaurants, hotels, other industries.
Rise in LPG prices
Let us tell you that a rise in LPG prices has been seen since March 7. The price of commercial cylinder has increased by about Rs 115 and the price of domestic cylinder has increased by about Rs 60. However, it is a matter of relief that the government has clarified that there will be no increase in the prices of petrol and diesel at present.
30 percent drop in supply
India imports a large part of its requirement from countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Due to the current tension, there has been a huge decline of about 30 percent in weekly imports, due to which the stock has to be managed through rationing.