NEW DELHI — Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has dismissed reports alleging an ongoing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) shortage in India, identifying panic buying and false rumors as the sole causes behind artificial stock pressures.
Speaking to NDTV, the Minister emphasized that the government acted proactively to ramp up domestic production to offset external supply uncertainties stemming from Middle East transit tensions.
Core Supply Facts & Policy Interventions
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Domestic Production Surge: Daily domestic LPG processing capacity was scaled up from 34,000 tonnes to between 55,000 and 56,000 tonnes per day.
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Retail Fuel Infrastructure: Zero supply dry outs reported across India’s network of 1.07 lakh retail fuel outlets.
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Consumption Spike: Panic hoarding triggered by misinformation drove daily cylinder demand up from an average of 52 lakh units to a peak of 90 lakh units.
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Distribution Controls: Rationalization and temporary booking limits were instituted specifically to curb black marketing and speculative hoarding.
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Digital Fulfilment: Standard 24-hour door-step delivery remains fully operational via mobile app booking platforms without physical station queuing.
