Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in India: Findings and recommendations

This executive summary examines the gendered impacts of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies and their reform in India, based on a survey of over 800 households. It finds that while LPG improves energy access and reduces women's labor and pollution exposure, current subsidy schemes are inefficiently targeted, often failing to reach the poorest households.

• India's clean cooking schemes have improved energy access for poor women, though approximately half of the surveyed women still rely on biomass for cooking.
• Switching from biomass to liquified petroleum gas (LPG) provides women with an average daily time saving of one hour due to decreased cleaning and cooking times, while also reducing drudgery and exposure to harmful indoor air pollution.
• Current LPG subsidies are inefficiently targeted. For the PMUY connection subsidies, only 48% of beneficiaries were in the poorest 40% of households. For PAHAL consumption subsidies, 48% of beneficiaries did not possess below the poverty line (BPL) cards.
• The report recommends that India review its subsidy targeting to better benefit poor households, proceed with reforms cautiously to prevent negative impacts on energy access, and adopt a holistic strategy that promotes non-fossil fuel technologies, such as electric cooking.

APA

Merrill,, S. S. B. L. S. S. Z. K. (2019). Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in India: Findings and recommendations. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/gender-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-india

Chicago

Merrill,, Shruti Sharma,Christopher Beaton,Tara Laan,Chandrashekhar Singh,Ashutosh Sharma,Anna Zinecker,Lucy Kitson,Laura. Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in India: Findings and recommendations. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/publications/gender-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-india.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Merrill, |first1=Shruti Sharma,Christopher Beaton,Tara Laan,Chandrashekhar Singh,Ashutosh Sharma,Anna Zinecker,Lucy Kitson,Laura |title=Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in India: Findings and recommendations |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=18 December 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/gender-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-india |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{merrill2019gender, author = {Merrill,, Shruti Sharma,Christopher Beaton,Tara Laan,Chandrashekhar Singh,Ashutosh Sharma,Anna Zinecker,Lucy Kitson,Laura}, title = {{Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform in India: Findings and recommendations}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/gender-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-india}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }