Available data indicates that India’s LPG import has reached to 2.4 million tonne in December, exceeding China’s import of 2.3 million tonne for the first time.
India has surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and it is only behind China as the demand of clean cooking fuel rose after Modi government started the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
Available data indicates that India’s LPG import has reached to 2.4 million tonne in December, exceeding China’s import of 2.3 million tonne for the first time. However, it is still behind China’s average monthly import of 2.7 million with the country’s import pegged at 1.7 million tonne.
The PMUY was started by the NDA government to provide LPG connections to poor families to replace their traditional cooking methods using firewood and traditional biomass fuels that have the potential to cause respiratory diseases. The government has claimed to distribute around 3.5 crore connection so far.
It has resulted in boosting household demand of LPG by nearly 8 percent in 2017-18, which encouraged its import by India to 11 million tonnes in 2017-18, as per a Times of India report stating government data.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a mention of the increased demand of LPG cylinders during his public address in Bihar on Wednesday. Stating the distribution of cooking gas connection in trhe state he said, that out of the 3.5-crore families with LPG connections, 50 lakh connections have been given to families in Bihar, which has increased the demand for LPG cylinders.
PM Modi was in Bihar to laid foundation stones for various projects and schemes worth Rs 6,600 crore for the development of the state.