5 kg FTL cylinders given priority to labourers, another major government decision amid LPG crisis

New Delhi. In today’s update of the Union Petroleum Ministry, it has been said that LPG supply remains a matter of concern but there are enough cylinders available with the gas agencies. With this, panic booking of LPG has now reduced and distribution of gas is continuing normally. In the last three weeks, around 3.5 lakh domestic and commercial PNG connections have been provided or activated. If states cooperate in expanding the PNG network, an additional 10% LPG will be allocated to them.

#WATCH | Delhi: Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, says, “About 3.5 lakh domestic and commercial PNG connections have been given or activated in the last three weeks. The supply of LPG still remains a matter of concern,… pic.twitter.com/tjKSncMuuN

— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2026

Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that now 50 percent of commercial LPG will be available to state governments and union territories. The Government of India has requested the State Governments to give priority to restaurants, dhabas, hotels, industrial canteens, food processing, dairy units, concessional canteens or outlets run by the State Government or local bodies, community kitchens in the allocation of gas. Besides, it has also been said to give priority to 5 kg FTL (foot-time LPG) cylinders for migrant workers. So far, about 20 states and union territories have allocated commercial LPG and about 15 thousand 800 tonnes of commercial LPG has been distributed.

The Joint Secretary said that various reports revealed that many people were facing problems due to shortage of commercial LPG. The Government of India is trying to reduce these problems as much as possible. All petrol pumps are functioning normally and adequate fuel is available at all locations. Our refineries are operating at their full capacity with adequate crude oil reserves. Retail outlets are functioning normally. In the context of natural gas, the government has advised CGD (city gas distribution) entities to give priority to commercial connections. Regarding purchase of crude oil from a particular country, I would like to clarify that these are purely techno-commercial decisions taken by the oil marketing companies.