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

The report finds that while India's clean cooking schemes improve energy access and save women an average of one hour per day, current LPG subsidies are inefficiently targeted, with nearly half of beneficiaries not belonging to the poorest households. It recommends refining subsidy targeting to better support poor households and adopting a holistic strategy that promotes non-fossil-fuel cooking technologies, such as electricity.

• India's clean cooking initiatives 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) reduces the time women spend on cooking and cleaning by an average of one hour per day, while also decreasing exposure to drudgery and harmful indoor air pollution.
• Current LPG subsidies are poorly targeted: only 48% of those receiving PMUY connection subsidies were in the poorest 40% of households, and 48% of PAHAL consumption subsidy recipients did not possess below the poverty line (BPL) cards.
• The report advises that India should reform its subsidy targeting to benefit more poor households and transition toward a holistic strategy that includes non-fossil-fuel cooking technologies, such as electricity.

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} }