March 19, 2026
The Local Solution to the Global LPG Crisis
India imports over half its LPG, but cheaper, cleaner alternatives already exist and work at scale
What's happening?
- We’ve all read about the LPG crisis in India — global supply disruptions have made cooking gas harder to get. Households are worried about whether they'll get their next cylinder, restaurants have had to cut down their menu.
- But there are some who’ve found a solution. Akshaya Patra serves 23.5 lakh school meals daily through 78 kitchens — only 6 run on LPG. The rest use briquettes from crop waste, biogas from food waste, piped gas, and solar energy.
- Tirumala’s temple runs on solar steam cooking and Shirdi's temple saves 200 kg LPG daily through solar.
Why should you care?
- These kitchens show alternatives already exist and can work even at massive scale.
- Biogas turns food waste into fuel. Briquettes use crop stubble farmers would otherwise burn.
- India imports over half its LPG. Moving away from LPG not just good for the environment but practical for energy security, and can be cost effective way as well!.