When war broke out between Iran and the United States, India suddenly found itself staring at a serious LPG supply problem. An Iranian strike on Qatar, the country that has long supplied India with the bulk of its cooking gas, threw the pipeline into disarray, and for a few tense days there was real worry that cylinders could run short across the country. The government moved quickly, reworking where it buys its LPG from, and the numbers now show that whatever happens next in the Middle East, Indian households are unlikely to feel it.
How the Qatar strike created the scare
Qatar has traditionally covered most of India's LPG needs. Once it came under attack from Iran, that supply line weakened, raising fears that gas cylinder availability would take a direct hit. Around the same time, reports from several cities pointed to LPG prices edging up as Middle East tensions simmered.
The government's countermove
Rather than wait for the shortage to bite, authorities began shifting import patterns early. According to reports, LPG tanker ships were kept moving through the Strait of Hormuz to keep supply flowing despite the regional uncertainty. India also cleared a roughly eight-year-old hurdle to bring in LPG directly from Iran, opening up yet another supply option. There was also talk of leaning on electricity supply to cushion any cylinder shortfall, while some villages in states like Bihar turned to alternative stoves as a stopgap.
The US emerges as the biggest supplier
Import data from the last six months shows the United States has now become India's largest source of LPG, with its share climbing to around 50%, up from under 10% before. That shift has made India's cooking gas supply far less vulnerable to whatever turmoil unfolds in the Middle East.
