Greater Noida (UP): After catapulting LPG coverage by about 40 per cent in just 55 months, the government will soon make available clean cooking fuel to all households, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Sunday.
Speaking at the Petrotech 2019 conference here, Pradhan informed that the coverage of LPG in the country has reached close to 90 per cent, rising from about 55 per cent in 2014.
“Very soon, India will be connecting all households with clean cooking fuel. The source of fuel will be LPG as well as gas from bio-mass and alternate sources,” Pradhan said.
“Before March 31, 2020, we will provide LPG connections to eight crore households under PMUY,” added the minister.
LPG is supposed to replace traditional cooking fuels in rural kitchens such as firewood and cow dung which not only contribute to environmental degradation but also have serious health implications on users.
Pradhan said the oil and gas sector is a key contributor to India’s economy and accounted for almost 55 per cent of its energy mix in 2017. India is the third largest consumer of crude oil and petroleum products in the world, accounting for 4.5 per cent of global oil consumption, behind the US and China.
“We have taken several measures to overhaul the hydrocarbon policy framework to ensure energy security for the country while pursuing the green path to progress,” Pradhan pointed out.
PTI