All posts tagged: empty lpg cylinders

There are three pathways for India to develop greater energy resilience

There are three pathways for India to develop greater energy resilience

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is, perhaps, a crisis too valuable to ignore. While some disruption is inevitable in the near term, within a timeframe of 5-10 years, more sustainable solutions may be found by realigning our energy dependence from external to internal sources. What are these internal sources? We could “drill, baby drill” for oil and gas off the Andaman & Nicobar islands. However, this is a very capital-intensive undertaking with uncertain outcomes, and if successful, it will, based on evidence, take decades to exploit. Commercialising fossil-fuel alternatives from locally available resources is imperative, along with an alternative supply and distribution chain for LNG. Based on current and emerging technologies, there are three feasible pathways for greater energy resilience: Widening electricity applications in transport, cooking, industrial process heat, and production of e-fuels; biofuels from agricultural residues and manure, municipal solid and liquid waste, and forestry biomass; increasing the share of natural gas in primary energy, and integrating small-scale LNG (SSLNG). We take up each in turn: First, India’s targets for non-fossil electricity …

Ceramic City kilns go cold over fuel crisis: ‘Hippo’ cylinders run out, workers leave | India News

Ceramic City kilns go cold over fuel crisis: ‘Hippo’ cylinders run out, workers leave | India News

“The factory feels so cold. You must think that’s because of the clay, but it’s actually because the furnace isn’t running.” Standing inside his plant in Khurja’s industrial area, a factory owner gestures at the rows of clay moulds and half-finished plates stacked across the factory floor. The kilns have been cold for nearly a month, he says. Khurja, a town about 90 km from Delhi in UP’s Bulandshahr, has for decades been synonymous with Indian ceramics. More than 350 units operate here, producing everything from plates and cups to decorative trays and crockery that finds its way to hotel chains, canteens and homes across the country. The industry employs more than 25,000 people, directly and in ancillary trades, giving Khurja the title of “Ceramic City”. But since the outbreak of the Iran war disrupted energy supply chains, most pottery manufacturers in Khurja have been unable to run their plants due to an impact on gas supply, and mounting fuel costs. Some workers have also started to leave. India’s pottery ceramics market was valued at …

Rajnath chairs IGoM meeting, emphasises constant vigil to ease West Asia war effect | India News

Rajnath chairs IGoM meeting, emphasises constant vigil to ease West Asia war effect | India News

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday chaired the second meeting of the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM), which took stock of a range of issues, including LPG supplies, aviation turbine fuel price hike, and customs duty exemption on 40 critical petrochemical products till June this year. The meeting was attended by Cabinet ministers Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), Hardeep Singh Puri (Petroleum), Manohar Lal (Power), Jagat Prakash Nadda (Chemical & Fertilisers), S Jaishankar (External Affairs), Prahlad Joshi (Food and Public Distribution), Jitendra Singh (Science and Technology), and Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways). Rajnath highlighted the importance of round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and the need to respond in a calibrated manner to deal with any eventuality, a statement from the Ministry of Defence noted. He stressed on the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure that the people of the country face the minimum effect of the conflict, the statement added. The IGoM also deliberated upon the recent developments at length, and the next steps to be taken by the Government to mitigate any adverse impact arising due to …

Panel: Take steps to protect farmers against cheap edible oil imports | India News

Panel: Take steps to protect farmers against cheap edible oil imports | India News

2 min readNew DelhiMar 28, 2026 05:15 AM IST Noting that India imports 56% of its edible oil needs, a Parliamentary committee has recommended that, to protect farmers from cheap imports, the government should devise such a mechanism wherein import duties on edible oils get dynamically adjusted based on domestic production levels. In its report, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing said, “The Committee strongly recommend that the Government should devise such mechanism wherein import duties get dynamically adjusted based on domestic production levels to protect farmers from cheap imports.” Headed by Congress member Charanjit Singh Channi, the panel said, “The Committee also feel that 20% safeguard duty or as such percentage as felt relevant by the concerned Government authorities needs to be imposed on Palm Oil imports if and when global prices fall below $800/tonne or any other rate fixed by the Government which would help & espouse the cause of Indian farmers.” “…in order to incentivise production of palm oil, NMEO-OP (National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm) needs to …

Requests for new PNG connections in Delhi up by 200% in 2 weeks as war rages in West Asia | Delhi News

Requests for new PNG connections in Delhi up by 200% in 2 weeks as war rages in West Asia | Delhi News

3 min readNew DelhiMar 15, 2026 04:32 AM IST Delhi has seen nearly a 200% increase in the number of applications received every day — from 700 to around 1,500 — for new piped natural gas (PNG) connections since the last two weeks as the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States rages in West Asia, according to the Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL). The IGL is the largest authorised gas distributor in the Capital that provides PNG pipeline and CNG. “On average, IGL receives about 700 to 800 applications for new PNG connections, but over the past two weeks, there has been a significant surge amid the panic over the shortage of LPG supply. We are receiving about 1,200 to 1,500 requests for new PNG connections on a daily basis. The volume of requests at our call centres is thrice compared to before,” said an IGL spokesperson. While the Centre has been encouraging 60 lakh LPG users across the country to switch to PNG for domestic use amid the current crisis, the IGL …

LPG crisis fuels uproar in Lok Sabha, adjourned twice | India News

LPG crisis fuels uproar in Lok Sabha, adjourned twice | India News

2 min readNew DelhiMar 14, 2026 05:24 AM IST Chaos continued in the Lok Sabha on Friday, which was adjourned twice amid non-stop protests and multiple heated exchanges between the Opposition and Treasury benches over the LPG situation and hike in its price due to the ongoing West Asia crisis. Between the two adjournments, around 70 opposition members gave notices to the Presiding Officers of both the Houses to move a resolution to remove Chief Election Commissioner  Gyanesh Kumar from office. Soon after Lok Sabha convened, Opposition members raise the issue of LPG situation and price hike. Speaker Om Birla warned them against disrupting the Question Hour. When the Opposition MPs continued raising slogans questioning PM’s absence, Birla said he was adjourning the proceedings till 12 noon. When the House resumed at 12 noon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the Congress of indulging in “indiscipline” and “drama” and warned the party to mend its ways or face “severe punishment” from the people. “They should have reformed after the very fruitful discussion we had about …

Will try our best: Iran envoy on safe passage for India-bound fuel ships | India News

Will try our best: Iran envoy on safe passage for India-bound fuel ships | India News

3 min readNew DelhiMar 14, 2026 01:57 AM IST Signalling headway in Delhi’s efforts to persuade Tehran to let India-bound fuel ships transit the Strait of Hormuz, Mohammad Fathali, Iran’s Ambassador to India, said Friday “we will try our best to remove the problems” and “I think you can expect good news in the near future”. (The Reuters news agency reported that Iran had allowed two Indian-flagged LPG carriers to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. Quoting sources, it identified the vessels as Shivalik and Nanda Devi. Another report by Reuters said a chartered plane arranged by Iran departed Kochi late Friday, carrying some sailors from a naval vessel that had docked in India, as well as the bodies of crew members killed in a US submarine attack off Sri Lanka.) Speaking to reporters in New Delhi after an event to mark the Al-Quds Day, Fathali, on being asked whether Iran would allow India-bound ships safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, said, “Yes. Because India and I are friends. You can see the future, and …

Some people trying to create panic, spread rumours over LPG: PM | India News

Some people trying to create panic, spread rumours over LPG: PM | India News

3 min readNew DelhiMar 13, 2026 01:49 AM IST Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Opposition, particularly the Indian National Congress, of attempting to create panic over an alleged LPG shortage in the country, even as he acknowledged that the ongoing conflict in West Asia has triggered a global energy crisis affecting nations across the world. Addressing the NXT Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, \Modi said India was working at multiple levels to ensure uninterrupted energy supplies and urged political parties and other stakeholders to act responsibly during a time of global uncertainty. “A big fulcrum of a country’s progress is how we are dealing with the country’s challenges,” the PM said, adding, “We all know that global situations can change quickly. We saw Covid-19 pandemic, then we saw the Russia-Ukraine war and now a war is going on very near to us. This war has forced the world into a very big energy crisis.” He accused sections of the Opposition of attempting to exploit the situation by spreading alarm about LPG availability. …