Subsidised LPG Refills to Require Aadhaar Biometric Authentication From October 1
Domestic LPG consumers must complete biometric Aadhaar authentication to book subsidised refills from October 1, the government has said.
Domestic cooking gas consumers will need to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication to book refills at the regulated retail selling price, with subsidy, from October 1. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry announced the requirement on Saturday, describing it as a step to ensure that subsidised LPG reaches only eligible households.
Consumers who have already finished the process need not do anything further. According to the ministry, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers — 89.9 per cent of the total — had completed biometric Aadhaar authentication as of September 19. For those who have not, booking of subsidised refills will be enabled once the authentication is done.
The government said the measure is intended to stop subsidised domestic cylinders from being diverted to commercial and industrial use, and to weed out duplicate and ineligible connections.
Authentication can be completed at the time of LPG delivery, at a distributor's showroom, or through the mobile applications of the three state-owned oil marketing companies: IndianOil ONE for Indane, HelloBPCL for Bharatgas and HP PAY for HP Gas.
Consumers who are unwilling or unable to complete biometric authentication will still be able to get LPG, but at the market price without subsidy. They will have to register their choice through the oil marketing companies' digital channels, including websites, mobile apps, WhatsApp chatbots and IVRS. Such consumers can receive 5-kg or 10-kg cylinders, subject to local availability.
The government had initially set June 30 as the deadline for completing biometric Aadhaar authentication, but extended it several times — to July 31, August 7, August 15, August 23, August 31, September 7 and finally September 14.
The nationwide authentication drive has been running since October 2023. Oil marketing companies have sent more than 12 crore SMS and WhatsApp messages and carried out outreach through distributors, delivery personnel, special camps, IVRS prompts and other channels.
The requirement comes amid heavy fiscal support for domestic LPG. The implicit subsidy on a 14.2-kg cylinder was around Rs 210 in September 2026, down from Rs 721 in June, according to the ministry. The government paid public-sector oil marketing companies Rs 22,000 crore as compensation for domestic LPG under-recoveries in 2022-23, and is paying Rs 30,000 crore in each of 2025-26 and 2026-27. Even so, accumulated under-recoveries on domestic LPG at state-owned oil marketing companies exceeded Rs 62,000 crore as of August 31, 2026.
From October 1, the authentication requirement effectively separates subsidised LPG from market-priced LPG. For eligible households, completing the process before booking the next refill will matter to retain access to the regulated subsidised price. For the government and the oil marketing companies, the stated aim is to make subsidy delivery more targeted and cut leakage by linking each subsidised connection to an Aadhaar-authenticated consumer.
The government has urged the remaining consumers to complete authentication before October 1 through the online, distributor or delivery-based channels available. The LPG services helpline is 1800 2333 555.