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Empty Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders are seen at a gas distribution centre at Dujana village in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi October 7, 2015.Reuters file

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign to enable many low-income rural households to switch from conventional cooking fuel sources (kerosene/firewood) has catapulted India as the second-largest importer of LPG in 2016-17, leaving behind Japan. China remained the largest importer.

Data released by Petrol Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) for March 2017 and the full year showed that the country imported 11 million tonnes of LPG, up 23 percent from the preceding fiscal (2015-16).

Bloomberg reported that Japan's LPG imports dropped 3.2 percent to 10.6 million during the period under review, placing India ahead of the country but still below China.

The Modi government had embarked on a twin campaign with regard to LPG consumption — first exhorting well-to-do people to give up subsidised LPG cylinders in March 2015, and following it up with 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana', a scheme for providing cooking gas to low-income (BPL) households. Launched in May 2016, after the 'Give It Up' campaign, the scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1,600 for each LPG connection to eligible BPL households.

The government has earmarked Rs 8,000 crore for the scheme to achieve the intended target of ensuring LPG connection to 5 crore families by March 2019, coinciding with general elections.

At the time of the launch, the government had said that out of about 24 crore households, 10 crore were "deprived of LPG as cooking fuel and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung – cakes etc. as primary source of cooking."

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'Give It Up' campaign is partial success

Launched amid much fanfare in March 2015, the 'Give It Up' campaign that saw consumers voluntarily giving up subsidised LPG cylinders, about 1.2 lakh consumers reversed their stance, availing of an option under the campaign.

In a reply to the Lok Sabha this month, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that out of the approximately 1 crore consumers who have given up their subsidised cooking gas entitlement, 1.2 lakh had decided to avail of the benefit.

The maximum number was from Maharashtra (23,000), followed by Uttar Pradesh (13,500), Karnataka (9,000), Tamil Nadu (7,600) and West Bengal (4,600), according to the minister.

"Gas cylinders surrendered by them would be transferred to the poor who use wood for cooking. If one crore people give up their LPG subsidy, one crore poor people will benefit as they will be given new LPG cylinders instead," Modi had said, while explaining the logic behind the campaign.

The number of LPG connections given by public sector oil marketing companies stood at 23.5 crore at the end of March 2017, according to the provisional data released by PPAC.

India's crude oil imports

For the financial year 2016-17, India's crude oil imports rose to 21.3 metric million tonnes (MMT) in 2016-17 from 202.85 MMT in the preceding fiscal, while the import bill increased to $69.72 billion, up from $63.97 billion.

Figures for 2016-17 are provisional.