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The government has made a rule, if your home already has Piped Natural Gas (PNG), you cannot keep or refill an Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder anymore. People with PNG connections will have to surrender their LPG connections, and new PNG users won’t be allowed to apply for LPG cylinders in the future.
The Why: LPG cylinders are subsidised and limited in supply, so the government wants them to go only to homes that don’t have piped gas access. If someone already has PNG flowing directly through a pipeline into their kitchen, keeping LPG as well is seen as unnecessary.
What’s behind the move: the regulator has asked gas companies to speed up PNG connections, especially in cities where pipelines are already installed. India already has about 1.65 crore PNG connections, but only around 1.03 crore households are actively using them, so the government wants more people to switch.
The bigger context: tensions due to Iran conflict have made global gas supply uncertain, especially because a lot of LNG shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz. India imports nearly half of its gas, so the government wants to reduce pressure on LPG supplies and manage fuel better in case global energy flows get disrupted.
Iran’s ambassador to India said Tehran would ensure the safety of Indian interests in Strait of Hormuz, even as tensions in the region entered their 14th day on Friday.
The envoy described India as a “friend”, signalling that Iranian authorities would try to facilitate the movement of Indian-linked shipping through the vital energy corridor.
At the same time, the Indian government has requested safe passage for 22 vessels currently stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Saturday.
Earlier, Iran had allowed several Indian ships to transit the waterway despite the ongoing blockade, offering some relief to Indian shipping and energy trade routes.
