Monday’s order is the first formal change to that formula since it was introduced, and effectively restores rural consumers to a booking cycle equivalent to that in cities, six months after the West Asia crisis first triggered the demand-side curbs
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Rural LPG consumers, who have waited up to 45 days between refill bookings since March, will now book cylinders on the same 25-day cycle as their urban counterparts, following a fresh order from the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.The revised timeline, notified on September 7 by Deputy Secretary Mohit Kumar Aggarwal to the chairmen of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, formally unwinds a demand-management measure the Ministry had imposed in March amid the West Asia conflict that began in February. That measure, announced via a PIB press release dated March 12, had set a 25-day gap for urban consumers and a steeper 45-day gap for rural consumers to conserve supply during the disruption.The Ministry’s letter cites an improved LPG supply position and a marked reduction in refill backlogs compared to the situation when the restrictions were first introduced, as the basis for the rollback. It directs the three State-run oil marketing companies to implement the uniform 25-day interval “with immediate effect” across both urban and rural areas, doing away with the differentiated timeline that had applied to rural households, including many Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, for nearly six months.The move brings LPG booking norms full circle. Through March and April, the Ministry had repeatedly denied social media reports of any change to the 25-day urban, 45-day rural formula, insisting the rules remained unaltered even as viral claims of 35-day and other revised intervals circulated. Monday’s order is the first formal change to that formula since it was introduced, and effectively restores rural consumers to a booking cycle equivalent to that in cities, six months after the West Asia crisis first triggered the demand-side curbs.The letter notes the revision carries the approval of the competent authority and has been issued for immediate implementation by the OMCs.Published on September 7, 2026
