New Delhi, September 21, 2026: Domestic LPG consumers will have to complete Biometric Aadhaar Authentication (BAA) to book refills at the regulated retail selling price with applicable subsidy from October 1, 2026, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced. The new requirement is aimed at ensuring that subsidised cooking gas reaches eligible consumers and at improving transparency in subsidy delivery.
According to the ministry, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers, or 89.9 per cent of the total, had already completed biometric authentication as of September 19. Consumers who have completed the process do not have to undertake it again and can continue booking their LPG refills as before.
For consumers who have not completed BAA, the key change will take effect from October 1. Their refill booking at the regulated retail selling price with applicable subsidy will become available once the Aadhaar authentication is completed. The government has clarified that the measure is intended to verify the beneficiary associated with each LPG connection rather than stop genuine households from accessing cooking gas.
The government has said the authentication system is designed to make LPG subsidy delivery more targeted. Linking an LPG connection to an Aadhaar-authenticated consumer is expected to help identify duplicate or ineligible connections and reduce the possibility of subsidised domestic cylinders being diverted for commercial or industrial use.
Consumers who have not yet completed the authentication can use several routes. BAA can be completed during LPG cylinder delivery, with the delivery personnel using the oil marketing company’s mobile application. Customers can also visit their LPG distributor’s showroom to complete the process.
There is also an option to complete the process digitally. Indane customers can use the IndianOil ONE app, Bharatgas customers can use HelloBPCL, while HP Gas customers can use the HP PAY app. The government has also made tutorial material available through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana portal to assist consumers with self e-KYC.
The new requirement does not mean that consumers who do not authenticate will be completely denied LPG. According to the ministry, customers who are unwilling or unable to complete BAA can still receive LPG, but they must register their choice through the oil marketing company’s digital channels, which may include the consumer portal, mobile app, WhatsApp chatbot or IVRS.
Such consumers, however, will not receive the applicable subsidy and will have to purchase LPG at the market price. The government has said that 5-kg and 10-kg cylinders can be supplied to such customers, subject to availability with the respective oil marketing company.
The authentication drive has been running for several months. The original deadline was set for June 30, 2026, but it was extended repeatedly to provide additional time to consumers. The final extension took the deadline to September 14, after which the government announced that biometric authentication would become mandatory for subsidised refill bookings from October 1.
The financial implications of the LPG subsidy also form part of the policy backdrop. The government said the implicit subsidy on a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder was around ₹210 in September 2026, compared with about ₹721 in June. It has also been providing compensation to public-sector oil marketing companies to help keep domestic LPG affordable.
The government has maintained that the authentication process is intended to improve the targeting of public support while ensuring that eligible households continue to receive subsidised LPG. With nearly 90 per cent of active domestic consumers already authenticated, the remaining consumers have a limited window to complete the process if they want to continue receiving refills at the regulated price with applicable subsidy.
For LPG consumers, the practical message is straightforward: those who have already completed biometric Aadhaar authentication need to take no further action, while those who have not should complete BAA through their distributor, during delivery or through their oil marketing company’s mobile application. From October 1, authentication will be required for subsidised domestic LPG refills at the regulated retail selling price.