Energy Subsidies in India

This report from the Global Subsidies Initiative of IISD was launched in conjunction with the Asia Europe Foundation, at a conference exploring the financing of future Sustainable Development Goals (September 29–30, 2014).

As part of its work on energy policy and sustainable development in India, the Global Subsidies Initiative publishes a regular briefing on issues related to energy subsidies.

This paper explores the link between fossil-fuel subsidies and gender in India. It focuses on the likely gender impacts of reform across cooking, lighting, pumping and transport fuels. Research finds subsidies have provided little benefit to the rural population and to the poor, especially to two thirds of people who rely on biomass for cooking.

A new report by the GSI looks at gender relations and data with regard to fossil-fuel subsidy reform, and looks at the likely impact of reform across cooking, lighting, water pumping and transport fuels from a gender perspective. The report has four main observations. First, fossil-fuel subsidies (13.7% of India’s budget expenditure in 2012-2013) have historically provided little benefit for rural women.

Over 40 per cent of households in India have no access to modern lighting fuels. This study was undertaken to assess and evaluate the pilot project in Kotkasim with a focus on answering the following issues: how the pilot project performed against its stated policy objectives; how the pilot project impacted kerosene-consuming households, including their ability to access the subsidy and effects on household expenditure; and the policy implications for the reform of the kerosene subsidy system more generally.

This paper analyzes the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Mysore, India.

Fuel subsidies are a significant fiscal burden in India, costing on average 1.4 per cent of GDP since fiscal year 2008. This paper provides a concise overview of subsidies for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used as a cooking fuel, particularly in urban areas. The paper also describes recent reforms to LPG subsidies and the impacts of those reforms on consumption, subsidy expenditure and distribution and targeting.

As part of its work on energy policy and sustainable development in India, the IISD Global Subsidies Initiative publishes a regular briefing on issues related to energy subsidies.