The government announced that Aadhaar biometric authentication will be mandatory for domestic LPG consumers to receive subsidy on refills from October 1, 2026. According to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, consumers must complete Biometric Aadhaar Authentication (BAA) to book refills at the regulated Retail Selling Price (RSP) with applicable subsidy. The ministry emphasized that this step is designed to ensure subsidised LPG reaches only genuine and deserving households, with the authentication requirement intended to curb diversion of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial and industrial use. Importantly, failure to complete BAA will not result in disconnection of LPG, but subsidised refills will not be provided. Those who have already completed authentication will not be required to do it again, with their refills continuing as before. Consumers requiring assistance with LPG services can call the toll-free helpline 1800 2333 555 for support. As per the ministry, "Linking each connection to the Aadhaar-authenticated consumer helps prevent diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders for commercial and industrial use, removes duplicate and ineligible connections, and makes subsidy delivery transparent and targeted."
As reported by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, consumers who have already completed BAA do not need to repeat the process and their refills will continue as before. However, for consumers who have not completed BAA, refill booking at RSP with subsidy will be enabled only after authentication is completed. Consumers can complete BAA during LPG refill delivery, with the delivery person using the Oil Marketing Company (OMC) mobile application, or visit their LPG distributor's showroom to complete the process. Alternatively, the process can be completed from home through the mobile applications of the three OMCs - IndianOil ONE for Indane customers, HelloBPCL for Bharatgas customers, and HP PAY for HP Gas customers. Video tutorials for completing self e-KYC are also available on the PMUY portal. For consumers who do not wish to complete BAA, they can still receive LPG at market price without subsidy in 5 kg or 10 kg cylinders, but must register their preference through digital channels of respective oil marketing companies such as consumer web portals, mobile apps, WhatsApp chatbots, IVRS or other available channels. The ministry clarified that "Consumers who are unwilling or unable to complete BAA can still receive LPG. They will need to register this choice on their OMC's digital channels: the consumer web portal, mobile app, WhatsApp chatbot, IVRS or other available channels. These consumers will be supplied LPG at the applicable market price, without any subsidy, in 5 kg or 10 kg cylinders, subject to local availability with the OMC."
According to official data from the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers have completed BAA, representing 89.9 per cent coverage as of September 19, 2026. Consumers were initially asked to complete BAA by June 30, 2026, but the deadline was extended several times to July 31, August 7, August 15, August 23, August 31, September 7, and finally September 14, 2026. Since October 2023, oil marketing companies have conducted a nationwide outreach drive, sending more than 12 crore SMS and WhatsApp messages for the purpose. Special camps have been held at distributorships, high-footfall locations and in rural areas to facilitate the process. The government highlighted that state oil marketing companies have been running a comprehensive campaign including text and WhatsApp notifications, home visits by distributors and delivery staff, special enrolment drives, automated telephone reminders, and media awareness campaigns. However, at least 3.16 crore domestic LPG customers are yet to complete their LPG biometric Aadhaar authentication, as reported by the Oil Ministry.
As reported by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the implicit subsidy for September 2026 is around ₹210 per 14.2 kg cylinder, compared to ₹721 per cylinder in June 2026. The government pays oil marketing companies compensation of ₹22,000 crore in FY 2022-23 and ₹30,000 crore during FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 to keep domestic LPG affordable. Despite these payments, accumulated under-recoveries of public sector OMCs on domestic LPG exceeded ₹62,000 crore as of August 31, 2026. Domestic LPG is sold at a price below its cost, making the subsidy program essential to sustain the program. The ministry emphasized that "Directing the subsidy only to genuine consumers is essential to sustaining it."
Indian oil marketing companies' domestic LPG under-recoveries crossed ₹62,000 crore in August 2026, up from ₹59,000 crore in July, according to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Under recoveries have surged even as the government paid OMCs compensation of ₹22,000 crore in FY 2022-23 and ₹30,000 crore during FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 with the aim to keep domestic LPG affordable. The sharp increase in LPG costs comes amid elevated global energy prices following the escalation of tensions in West Asia and disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on the economics of subsidised domestic cooking gas. According to data shared by the government in a Rajya Sabha, domestic LPG continues to be sold below its cost to consumers, with the gap being absorbed by oil marketing companies and partly offset through government compensation. The Oil Ministry has directed oil marketing companies like Indian Oil, BPCL, and HPCL to halt LPG subsidy benefits of customers who have not completed their biometric authentication immediately until they complete the e-KYC process, with LPG subsidy benefits including direct benefit transfers (DBT) and targeted subsidy refills for non-BAA customers being halted from July 1, 2026.
The new rules come at a time when the government has already trimmed LPG booking interval gap to 25 days for both rural and urban customers, as reported by Goodreturns. Earlier, the ministry changed the rule in early March 2026 due to West Asia war, with 25-day booking intervals for urban customers while rural customers had to wait 45 days for LPG refills. In the pre-West Asia war era, it usually took a 21-day gap for LPG refills. Additionally, the Oil Ministry is expediting the process of PNG expansion by approving the Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Domestic PNG Connections, effective from September 1, 2026, to accelerate the expansion of active domestic PNG connections. As per the Oil Ministry, "By incentivising eligible CGD entities for incremental billed PNG connections, the Scheme is designed to strengthen the economics of PNG expansion-helping bring clean, safe, convenient, and affordable piped cooking gas to more households." The government has banned two cooking gas connections since March 2026 and has asked LPG customers to switch to piped natural gas (PNG) if infrastructure is available in their society or resident. This means if you have both LPG and PNG connection facility, you can only keep PNG or apply for PNG. The new update enables the campaign of identifying areas where PNG infrastructure is available and to expedite the process of switching, with the government warning that LPG connections will be discontinued of those users who ignored OMCs or city-gas distributors notice for switching to PNG.
