Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 21: The government announced on Saturday an additional 20% allocation of commercial LPG to states and Union Territories (UTs), raising the total allocation to 50%, including the earlier 10% given based on PNG expansion reforms.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stated that this extra allocation will be prioritized for restaurants, dhabas, hotels, industrial canteens, food processing and dairy units, subsidized government or local body canteens, community kitchens, and 5 kg free trade LPG cylinders for migrant workers.

Earlier, the government had restored 20% commercial LPG supply to consumers and added 10% based on ease-of-doing-business reforms for PNG expansion. Currently, 20 states and UTs have issued orders to distribute non-domestic LPG following central guidelines, while Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) oil companies continue supplying commercial cylinders to other regions. In the past week, around 13,479 MT of commercial LPG was uplifted across states and UTs.

The ministry highlighted that educational institutions and hospitals receive priority, with about 50% of commercial LPG allocations directed to these sectors.

Addressing supply concerns amid the ongoing geopolitical situation, officials said domestic LPG production has increased, panic bookings have declined, and most deliveries are conducted through the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC) system.

“No retail outlets have reported fuel shortages,” the government assured, urging citizens not to indulge in panic buying, noting that adequate stocks of petrol and diesel are maintained and all refineries are operating at high capacity with sufficient crude inventories.