State-run oil companies have already distributed over 94% of the 7.5 million free cooking gas connections it was to deliver to poor households following a September 2023 Cabinet decision -- way ahead of the envisaged deadline of March 31, 2026 -- two officials aware of the matter said.
The decision to bring back the subsidy in cooking gas for all consumers, which was discontinued in 2020, comes ahead of key state elections later this year.