India’s Clean Cooking Shift

The document argues that while India has expanded clean cooking via LPG subsidies, this pathway creates fiscal burdens and import dependencies. It advocates for a shift toward biogas in rural regions and e-cooking in urban areas, noting that both are more cost-effective over their lifecycles than LPG. The brief provides evidence from fieldwork in several Indian states and cities, highlighting that e-cooking could save the government over INR 2 trillion in subsidies by 2050. Key barriers identified include high upfront costs and inadequate maintenance services, which the authors suggest addressing through redirected subsidies and decentralized service centers.

• Biogas is more economical than LPG over its operational lifetime for most rural Indian households, provided there is local maintenance support. A subsidized biogas plant with a 15-year lifespan is identified as a more cost-effective option at current LPG prices.
• The adoption of biogas leads to a significant decrease in the use of traditional fuels; users reported a 70% reduction in firewood consumption after switching to biogas.
• Prefabricated biogas models are superior to civil construction-based models because they are more compact, require less maintenance, and can be installed in one to two days. They are also better suited for alpine climates as they are less prone to leakage from heavy rains and efficiency drops in winter.
• E-cooking is currently cheaper than LPG or piped natural gas (PNG) in terms of operational expenditure for most urban households. A strong policy push for urban e-cooking could reduce household LPG demand by half by 2050 and save the government more than INR 2 trillion (USD 24 billion) in cumulative subsidies.
• Several barriers hinder the scale-up of e-cooking, including high upfront costs for double-plated induction stoves, unreliable electricity in rural areas, and a lack of repair options. In Bengaluru, two-thirds of households reported discarding broken devices due to a lack of repair services.

APA

Mani, S., Kohli, G., Sharma, S., Limaye, G., & Alsulaiman, A. (2026). India’s Clean Cooking Shift. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/india-clean-cooking-summary.pdf

Chicago

Mani, Sunil, Gunjan Kohli, Shruti Sharma, Gaurav Limaye, and Abdurahman Alsulaiman. India’s Clean Cooking Shift. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/india-clean-cooking-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mani |first1=Sunil |last2=Kohli |first2=Gunjan |last3=Sharma |first3=Shruti |last4=Limaye |first4=Gaurav |last5=Alsulaiman |first5=Abdurahman |title=India’s Clean Cooking Shift |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/india-clean-cooking-summary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mani2026indias, author = {Mani, Sunil and Kohli, Gunjan and Sharma, Shruti and Limaye, Gaurav and Alsulaiman, Abdurahman}, title = {{India’s Clean Cooking Shift}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-02/india-clean-cooking-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }