LPG booking interval for rural consumers cut to 25 days from 45

The Union Petroleum Ministry on Monday (September 7, 2026) reduced the interval between bookings of domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for rural consumers to 25 days, months after it had been increased to 45 days during the peak of the West Asia conflict.

This brings the interval between bookings for rural consumers on par with urban consumers, for whom the period remains unchanged at 25 days.

In a letter to oil marketing companies, the Ministry cited “considerable reduction” in refill backlogs in the current supply situation among the reasons that prompted the relaxation.

Impact of West Asia crisis

At the peak of the conflict in West Asia in March 2026, the government had expanded the booking interval for domestic LPG cylinders from 21 days to 25 days for urban consumers and 45 days for rural consumers.

Prior to the conflict, India met 60% of its overall LPG requirements through imports. Of these imports, 90% were routed via the Strait of Hormuz, which faced a blockade as a result of the conflict.

Indian oil marketing companies then began increasingly importing LPG from the United States, which now forms nearly two-thirds of India’s LPG import basket.

The government’s subsequent push for piped natural gas (PNG), among other factors, led to India’s consumption of LPG declining by 17.4% in June compared to the same month last year, and 16.2% in August compared to the same period last year.

Distributors hail move

Speaking to The Hindu, LPG distributors’ associations welcomed the move.

Chandra Prakash, president of the All-India LPG Distributors Federation, said certain distributors categorised as rural were actually located in areas that had later developed into full-fledged urban centres, such as Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra. The Petroleum Ministry’s move will benefit such distributors, he said.

Mr. Prakash assured that distributors would be able to meet the demand arising from the revision in the booking interval. “There will not be a massive surge in demand with the move. India’s oil marketing companies have diversified their procurement, and we have augmented our domestic production as well. We do not foresee any shortage even in the upcoming festival season,” Mr. Prakash said.

Pawan Soni, general secretary of the Federation of LPG Distributors of India, also said the Ministry’s move would benefit distributors that come under the rural categorisation.

“LPG is an essential commodity. Consumers would have had to wait less if they had a distributor under the urban categorisation [rather than the rural categorisation]. We had spoken to the Ministry to address this and accord equality,” he said, thanking the Ministry and oil marketing companies’ leadership for the “practical decision in the larger interest of consumers”.