LPG subsidy denied to 3.16 crore consumers who skipped Aadhaar authentication

No subsidised LPG refills for users yet to complete eKYC

Domestic liquefied petroleum gas connections that have not undergone biometric Aadhaar authentication will immediately be denied refills at the subsidised Retail Selling Price, the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has directed the three public sector oil marketing companies.

The ministry communicated the change in a September 17 directive, instructing Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL to block consumers who are not compliant with the Biometric Aadhaar Authentication (BAA) requirement. Consumers unwilling or unable to complete the process will be supplied refills at the market determined price without any explicit or implicit subsidy, though the ministry did not specify what the market determined price would be.

3.16 crore consumers yet to authenticate

As on September 14, when the deadline for eKYC ended, around 3.16 crore domestic LPG consumers across the country had not completed BAA, despite repeated extensions of timelines. Explicit subsidy benefits like DBTL and targeted subsidy for such non-BAA consumers have already been stopped with effect from July 1.

These consumers, however, continue to draw refills at the regulated RSP which involves an implicit subsidy and an avoidable burden on the exchequer, according to the ministry's September 17 communication shared by the Telangana LPG Distributors' Association.

Two options for non-compliant consumers

In this backdrop, the ministry has approved two options for non-BAA consumers with immediate effect: complete the authentication process to continue availing cylinders at the regulated RSP, or provide in writing to the distributor concerned about their inability to do so and receive refills at market determined price.

However, once they complete BAA, the consumers will become eligible to draw refills at the regulated RSP. TLDA president Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the association appeals to domestic LPG consumers to complete BAA at the earliest to avoid any interruption in their essential domestic LPG supply. There are an estimated 1.26 crore domestic LPG connections in Telangana.

Free authentication at multiple touchpoints

The BAA can be completed, free of cost, at the office of the LPG distributor concerned; at the time of cylinder delivery, through the biometric-enabled handheld device available with the delivery personnel; or through the mobile applications and OMC customer portals.

Consumers are advised to keep their Aadhaar linked and updated, and to ensure that the mobile number registered with the LPG connection is active to receive all OMC alerts and OTPs.

TLDA said it fully supports the government of India's objective of ensuring 100 per cent BAA of domestic LPG consumers, as it is essential for prudent utilisation of public funds and for accurately targeting the subsidy to the deserving.

Source: The Hindu