India has offered poorer homes three free cylinder refills until June as part of its $23 billion coronavirus stimulus package.
After the government said it would provide low-income households with free LPG over the next three months after introducing a 21-day lockdown on 25 March, India has witnessed a threefold increase in requests for cylinder refills.
Residential customers that qualify for the PMUY subsidy scheme can refill 14.2kg cylinders up to three times for free until the end of June. The move is part of a $22.6 billion stimulus package to counter the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The increase in demand is putting a strain on domestic refineries, with refill bookings up by more than 200 percent prior to 25 March, IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh said. The firm has contracted around 850,000 tonnes of additional LPG imports to meet the demand.
IOC supplies LPG to 131 million of the country's approximate 278 million residential customers and supplied 2.5 million refilled cylinders out of a total of 5.2 million over 20-30 March. Saudi Arabia, India's main LPG supplier, has agreed to increase supplies to cater to India's demand.
