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LPG shortage in India: Households scramble for other cooking options
Retailers report massive demand for induction cooktops, as consumers want to avoid having to wait for long to replenish their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders
- PUBLISHED: Wed 11 Mar 2026, 1:40 PM
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The shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used primarily for cooking at more than 300 million homes and restaurants across India, has resulted in a huge surge in demand for induction cookers, with sellers including Amazon and Flipkart reporting a hefty jump in demand in recent days.
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An Amazon spokesperson told the media that the company has seen a "phenomenal surge in demand of 20 times" in the past day.
Flipkart, owned by Walmart, has seen a tripling in sales of induction cooktops over the past few days. “The prevailing global condition has made the induction cooktop from a 'kitchen upgrade' into a 'survival necessity' for many households,” a Flipkart spokesperson told the media. “We are seeing an unprecedented surge in induction sales driven by a combination of soaring costs and physical supply shortages of LPG.” Sales volume has tripled over the past five day.
Other quick commerce platforms in India including Tata group’s BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto have also experienced surging demand for the energy-efficient stoves, which are costlier than traditional ones using flames. They use electromagnetic technology to heat cookware, unlike open flames in the conventional ones.
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“We have seen a surge in demand of 10 times,” said a BigBasket spokesperson. Even vendors in the bigger Indian cities report massive demand for the induction cooktops, as consumers want to avoid having to wait for long to replenish their LPG cylinders.
Some observers feel that this is a good trend as it would reduce demand on LPG for cooking, currently accounting for 90 per cent energy usage in the country. It would also reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.
