Reacting to the Rajya Sabha debate on the Appropriation Bill, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the government is ensuring constant availability of cooking gas even in turbulent times. She said domestic production of LPG is also being increased to meet any situation.
The minister claimed that the country has sufficient stock of fertilizers for Kharif crops and global tenders to procure nutrients for the next Rabi season will be launched soon. “The crisis in West Asia has brought a new challenge and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on self-reliance and increasing production to meet India’s basic requirements has helped the country,” she said.
“Overwhelmingly, 90%, 65% of LPG imports go through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, there has been speculation as to whether we will get it or not. There are enough reports on how we are ensuring a smooth flow in these turbulent times,” she said, adding that the country is building its LPG capacity and even “at the moment domestic LPG capacity is approaching”.
She said the Center has directed oil refineries and petrochemical complexes to maximize LPG production by diverting streams of propane, butane, propylene and butane to the LPG pool. “As a result, we are increasing LPG supply capacity domestically as well, and domestic LPG production is growing by about 25%,” Ms. Sitharaman said, adding that all production from this increased capacity goes to domestic consumers.
“To ensure that households do not suffer, not only are steady streams of shipping lines coming here, but domestically we have also increased LPG production capacity and shifted away from other hydrocarbon materials to produce LPG. As a result, domestic supply will be adequately streamlined and supply will remain stable,” Ms Sitharaman said.
Published – 17 March 2026 23:03 IST
