Background and Context
The government supports domestic cooking gas (LPG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas) in two ways: the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBTL) and the subsidy of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), and compensation to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for under-recovery on domestic LPG. This article is based only on one Lok Sabha answer and its Annexure-A.
Why in the News
On 30 July 2026 (Thursday), Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Suresh Gopi answered Shri K. Radhakrishnan's Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1901 ("Subsidy to LPG Beneficiaries"). The question asked: (a) the number of domestic LPG consumers who received subsidy in the last five years, state/UT-wise; (b) whether the beneficiaries fell, and the reasons; (c) the total expenditure on LPG subsidy in the last five years; (d) the steps to make LPG affordable for the poor and middle class.
Key Facts and Figures
| The printed subsidy table (Rs crore; source PPAC) | Total (A+B+C): 2021-22: 1,811; 2022-23: 28,965; 2023-24: 11,444; 2024-25: 13,640; 2025-26: 23,559. DBTL (A): 242; 855; 1,227; 366; 1,083*. PMUY subsidy (B): 1,569; 6,110; 10,217; 13,274; 9,976*. Compensation to OMCs (C): 22,000 in 2022-23 and 12,500 in 2025-26, "-" in the remaining years. *The starred figures are up to December 2025. |
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| Compensation and under-recovery (the answer) | The government gave OMCs compensation of Rs 22,000 crore in 2022-23 and is giving Rs 30,000 crore in 2025-26 and 2026-27; even so, by 30 June 2026 the PSU OMCs' cumulative under-recovery on domestic LPG was "more than Rs 51000 crores". At Rs 942 per cylinder (Delhi), an "implicit subsidy of more than Rs. 500 per cylinder" is stated. |
| Annexure-A's state-wise consumers (printed numbers, 01.04.2026) | Uttar Pradesh 4,90,35,497; Maharashtra 3,20,12,830; West Bengal 2,72,43,095; Tamil Nadu 2,40,67,862; Bihar 2,35,87,606. The lowest: Lakshadweep 14,184; Sikkim 1,93,166; Mizoram 3,67,287. The annexure has no total row. |
| Our sum (36 rows, not the printed total) | 01.04.2022: 30,53,24,094; 01.04.2023: 31,40,32,781; 01.04.2024: 32,42,18,434; 01.04.2025: 32,96,98,097; 01.04.2026: 33,39,21,410. The increase from 2022 to 2026 is 2,85,97,316 (about 9.4%), our calculation. The five largest states (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar) are about 46.7% of our sum on 01.04.2026. Among 144 year-on-year comparisons across 36 states/UTs, there are two declines: Jammu and Kashmir from 01.04.2022 to 01.04.2023 (35,68,167 to 34,59,799) and Delhi from 01.04.2025 to 01.04.2026 (56,89,812 to 56,40,297). |
Checking the Figures: What Matches and What Does Not
What matches (our calculation): in the subsidy table, each year's A+B+C equals the printed total (for example, 2022-23: 855 + 6,110 + 22,000 = 28,965; 2025-26: 1,083 + 9,976 + 12,500 = 23,559). The 2022-23 compensation of Rs 22,000 crore is the same in the answer's text and the table. Annexure-A's 36 rows are complete.
What does not match or is unclear: the answer's text has 33.13 crore domestic consumers on 01.07.2026, while our sum of Annexure-A's 36 rows is 33,39,21,410 (about 33.39 crore) on 01.04.2026 - that is, the text number for the later date is lower. The answer does not give a reason for this difference and we have not assumed one. Also, the text says Rs 30,000 crore is being given in 2025-26 and 2026-27, while the table's 2025-26 compensation is 12,500; the answer does not connect the two.
Asked versus given: (a) asked for consumers receiving subsidy; the annexure gives the number of all domestic consumers. (b) asked the reasons for any fall in beneficiaries; the answer says nothing separately about reasons. (c) asked the total expenditure over five years; the answer gives a year-wise table, not the five-year sum. We did not make the sum, because 2025-26's DBTL and PMUY figures are only up to December 2025.
Periods: the subsidy table is of financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26 (two components of 2025-26 up to December 2025); the consumer numbers are as of 1 April; the text's number is of 01.07.2026. The annexure's note: for 01.04.2022, Ladakh's active connections are included in Jammu and Kashmir.
Significance: Read Subsidy, Compensation and Consumer Numbers Separately
The form of support: according to the table, the large part of 2022-23's total is compensation to OMCs (22,000), while in 2024-25 only DBTL (366) and PMUY (13,274) are recorded. Compensation is not recorded in the years marked "-".
The number of consumers: by our sum, domestic consumers rose about 9.4% between 2022 and 2026; this is not the number of those receiving subsidy.
Challenges and What is Not in the Answer
Asked, but not received: a separate number of consumers receiving subsidy; the reasons for a fall in beneficiaries (if any); the five-year total expenditure; details of other steps to make LPG affordable.
Unresolved points: 33.13 crore (01.07.2026) versus our sum of 33,39,21,410 (01.04.2026); Rs 30,000 crore versus the table's 12,500; the basis of the under-recovery calculation; full-year 2025-26 DBTL and PMUY figures.
What we did not read: we read only the official text of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1901 and Annexure-A. PPAC's reports, the OMCs' data and PMUY's guidelines were not read.
Way Forward
Treat this as dated government information of the answer of 30 July 2026; full-year 2025-26 figures and a separate number of those receiving subsidy will become visible when the Ministry publishes them.
Differences in Concepts
Keep four things separate: (1) the DBTL and PMUY subsidies; (2) compensation to OMCs; (3) the number of all domestic consumers; (4) under-recovery. Along with these, keep the answer's figures and our calculation separate too.
Mains View
GS-III: subsidies and their effect on the economy, energy; GS-II: schemes for weaker sections.
Answer Outline
Introduction: DBTL, PMUY and compensation to OMCs; Question 1901 (30.07.2026). Main Body: the year-wise table and the A+B+C match; 2025-26 figures up to December 2025; those receiving subsidy versus all consumers; 33.13 crore versus our sum of 33.39 crore (unclear); Rs 30,000 crore versus 12,500; the additional figures needed. Conclusion: Judge the effectiveness of government assistance by the actual subsidy-receiving consumers and full-year figures; keep all consumers, OMC compensation and dated expenditure separate, and do not arbitrarily correct the unclear total.
Sources
Source: the official text of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 1901 and Annexure-A were read, the sums were checked and the page images were viewed. PPAC's reports were not read.
Remember: in the Lok Sabha answer's table figures, the total subsidy and compensation on domestic LPG runs from Rs 1,811 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 23,559 crore in 2025-26 (2025-26's DBTL and PMUY figures up to December 2025); the answer has no separate number of those receiving subsidy, and 33.13 crore (01.07.2026) does not match our sum.
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