’Pause LPG subsidy for users not completing biometric Aadhaar authentication by June 30’
For cooking gas consumers, including Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries, who have not got themselves biometrically authenticated, the subsidy on LPG refills will be withheld if they
For cooking gas consumers, including Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries, who have not got themselves biometrically authenticated, the subsidy on LPG refills will be withheld if they fail to complete the process by June 30. Those completing authentication process after the deadline will get the subsidy but only prospectively. In other words, no subsidy will be paid to them on refills obtained during the intervening period. Besides fixing June 30 as the deadline for the consumers to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication (BAA), the Centre in the latest circular last month has also advised oil marketing companies Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL to share information about such users with States and Union Territories extending additional subsidy on LPG.
Under the flagship Ujjwala scheme, the Centre provides ₹300 as subsidy on each refill. Other domestic consumers of LPG, who are eligible and have not given up subsidy, get a relatively small amount in their bank accounts. In Hyderabad, the cost of a domestic refill, without subsidy, after the June 7 increase in the price by ₹29 per cylinder is ₹994. With more than 1.26 lakh active domestic LPG consumers as per official numbers up to April 2025, Telangana is one of the States that operates an LPG subsidy scheme. Under the scheme, the price of LPG refills is capped at ₹500 each for eligible households.
The May 18 communication of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas communication, coming in the backdrop of the West Asia crisis that fuelled a cooking gas crisis among other things, directed the oil companies to facilitate the BAA process by informing consumers, who have never undertaken the process since obtaining the LPG connections. The subsidies under DBTL-PAHAL and targetted subsidy scheme will be kept in abeyance, until the consumers complete the authentication. If the beneficiaries fail to complete authentication by June 30, the withheld subsidy will lapse and no subsidy provided on refills taken subsequently.
For those completing BAA after the stipulated period, the subsidy will be restored only prospectively. No subsidy will be paid for refills obtained during the intervening period. The Ministry said supply of refills should not be stopped for the want of BAA authentication. Sources in LPG trade in Telangana, however, said they have been informally asked to stop or delay supplies to those not completing BAA.
The BriefWire