Domestic LPG consumers who want to book refills at subsidised rates will need to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication from October 1, according to the Centre, in a move aimed at restricting subsidies to genuine household connections.
The requirement applies to consumers who have not yet completed biometric Aadhaar authentication, also referred to as BAA or e-KYC. Consumers who have already completed the process will not need to repeat it and can continue booking refills as before.
A Press Information Bureau release said the authentication process would link each LPG connection to an Aadhaar-authenticated consumer. According to the release, this is intended to prevent the diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders for commercial and industrial use, remove duplicate and ineligible connections, and make subsidy delivery more targeted and transparent.
The Centre said the process is not intended to deny LPG to any genuine household. Consumers can complete the authentication during refill delivery, when the delivery person uses the oil companies’ mobile applications. They can also visit their LPG distributor or complete the process themselves through the relevant mobile application.
For consumers who have not completed BAA, subsidised refill booking will be enabled once authentication is completed. The price of a 14.2kg domestic LPG cylinder in Calcutta is ₹968, making the authentication requirement directly relevant to household cooking-fuel access and monthly expenditure for eligible consumers.
The government has extended the deadline several times after consumers were initially asked to complete biometric authentication by June 30. As of September 19, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers had completed BAA, representing 89.9 per cent of the total consumer base, the PIB release said.
The remaining consumers will have to use one of the available authentication channels before booking subsidised refills from October 1. The next operational step is completion of BAA through delivery personnel, distributors or the oil companies’ mobile applications.
