India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has partially relaxed the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to steel plants, including the steel industry among the priority sectors, the government said in a statement on Friday, March 27.
The ministry said that while it regulates the supply of LPG for commercial use, this is being partially relaxed. As part of this relief, state governments will now be allocated liquefied petroleum gas at 70 percent of their pre-war requirements in the Middle East.
Shortly after the war, the government reduced the allocation for liquefied petroleum gas for industrial and commercial use for all state governments to 50 percent of their pre-war requirements.
“Additional allocations will be made to industries with priority, such as steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals and plastics, which are labor intensive and support other essential services,” the ministry said in a statement.
In a communication to state governments, the ministry said that even among these industries, priority should be given to manufacturing industries or those requiring LPG for specialized heating purposes, which cannot be replaced by natural gas gas.
Earlier this week, the steel ministry sought immediate intervention from its counterparts in oil and natural gas to alleviate the LPG shortage facing steel mills, especially small and medium-sized ones.
The LPG shortage has hit the steel industry, according to industry sources
