Govt to replace LPG subsidy?

New Delhi: Government think tank Niti Aayog is working on a proposal to replace LPG subsidy with cooking subsidy in order to extend the benefits to people using piped natural gas and biofuels for cooking purposes. Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Sunday that subsidy should be applicable for all fuels that are used for cooking. At present, the government extends subsidy to users of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

“Niti Aayog is working on a proposal to replace LPG subsidy with cooking subsidy. LPG is a specific product, a subsidy should be for larger set of all products/ fuels which are used for cooking. “(For) all fuels which are used for cooking, subsidy should be applicable. Because if there are some cities where PNG (Piped Natural Gas) is used, then it is only logical that the subsidy be extended to them also,” Kumar said in an interview.

Kumar’s comments also come against the backdrop of apprehensions in certain quarters that subsidy only for LPG users is inhibiting the adoption of clean and cheap fuels such as biofuels in rural areas and PNG in urban areas. 

The changes pertaining to cooking subsidy are likely to be incorporated in the draft National Energy Policy 2030. The draft was made public last year. After inter-ministerial consultations, the policy would be taken up by the Cabinet.