Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in Parliament on Tuesday (17 March 2026) that domestic production of LPG is being increased to ensure the supply of cooking gas to homes amid the Middle East crisis. India imports about 65 per cent of its domestic LPG requirements and 90 per cent of this comes through the war-torn Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East crisis poses challenge: Finance Minister
Responding to the discussion on the Appropriation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said, ‘The Middle East crisis has created a new challenge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on self-reliance and efforts to increase production to meet India’s basic demands have helped the country. He said, ‘Almost 90 percent of LPG imports and 65 percent of them come through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, there was speculation whether we would get LPG or not. In this time of crisis, we are ensuring continuous supply and there are adequate reports in this regard.
Domestic LPG production will be increased by 25%: Nirmala Sitharaman
On March 8, 2026, the central government had directed oil refineries and petrochemical complexes to maximize LPG production. The Finance Minister said, ‘The country is increasing the production capacity and at this time also the way we have increased the domestic production capacity in LPG is also helping. Domestically also we are increasing the production capacity for LPG supply. Domestic LPG production is increasing by about 25 percent and the entire production from this increased capacity is going to domestic consumers.
He said, ‘To ensure that families do not suffer, not only is there a continuous flow through shipping, but we have also turned to LPG production from other hydrocarbon substances to increase LPG production capacity domestically. As a result, the domestic supply will be adequately organized and the supply will remain stable.
