India's LPG supply chain has experienced a 20% year-on-year decline in May 2026, with consumption falling from 2.68 million metric tonnes in May 2025 to 2.13 million metric tonnes in May 2026. According to PPAC data, this represents the steepest annual decline recorded in recent history, directly attributable to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz combined with the enforced removal of Iranian LPG shadow supply chains. The crisis has exposed India's critical vulnerability, as the country sources approximately 90% of its LPG imports from West Asia, with the overwhelming bulk transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. When geopolitical tensions escalate in this region, India lacks the luxury of drawing from diversified stockpiles or redirecting supply chains within weeks.
Asia faces the harshest fallout from the US-Israel war against Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz closure triggering record oil market disruption and soaring energy prices. According to Zero Carbon Analytics, natural gas prices in Asia have recorded the sharpest increases globally, with the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) surging to $22.35 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on March 19, up 108.4% from the day before the war began. By comparison, Europe's Dutch TTF benchmark peaked at $15.81 per MMBtu, up 99.1%, while US Henry Hub prices remained relatively stable. Zero Carbon Analytics found that China, India, Japan and South Korea account for 75% of crude oil exports and 59% of LNG exports moving through the Strait of Hormuz, making Asia particularly vulnerable to energy supply disruptions.
Rising tensions in West Asia and the risk of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz have reignited concerns about India's dependence on imported energy. According to reports from IANS, India has relied heavily on imported oil and gas moving through vulnerable maritime routes for decades. The current crisis has crystallized these structural vulnerabilities, with Brent crude prices climbing to $138 per barrel during the conflict and global food prices reaching a near three-year high. The analysis suggests this vulnerability should be treated as a strategic warning rather than an external crisis, as India faces similar challenges to China's diversification efforts but lacks the luxury of another decade to prepare. The current LPG crisis has demonstrated the critical need for structural supply resilience rather than perpetual crisis diplomacy.
India faces additional vulnerabilities beyond LPG, with about 40% of the country's urea imports originating from the Gulf region, making agriculture vulnerable to rising fertiliser costs and shortages. According to Zero Carbon Analytics, 34% of urea trade and 23% of ammonia trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz in 2024, with India, the United States, Australia and Brazil among the largest importers of ammonia from the region. The World Bank's fertiliser price index rose more than 12% during the first quarter of 2026, reaching its highest level since October 2022, and is projected to increase by more than 30% this year. The pressure is already feeding into food inflation, with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index reaching its highest monthly level since February 2023 in April 2026.
India's greatest overlooked energy resource lies in mountains of municipal waste, agricultural residue, animal waste, food waste and organic matter that continue to accumulate daily. As reported by IANS, this waste should be treated as a strategic national resource through a National Waste to Energy Mission operating from Panchayats to the national level. The mission would require a multi-layer approach - at village level through community plants converting cattle waste and agricultural residue into biogas, district level with bio methane and compressed biogas units, city level with integrated waste processing facilities, and national level with large waste processing parks involving industry participation. The initiative would leverage artificial intelligence to optimize waste management through smart bins, sensor-based systems, and predictive management models.
