LPG e-KYC deadline extended to Sept 14; 12% users yet to comply in Telangana

The deadline for domestic cooking gas consumers to complete Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, or e-KYC, for their liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections has been extended by another week to September 14. The one-week extension was confirmed by a senior official in one of the three oil marketing companies (OMCs).

In Telangana, about 88% of the State’s 1.26 crore LPG consumers have completed the process, the official said. Those who have done so will continue to receive refills at the subsidised domestic rate. For the remaining 12%, roughly 15.12 lakh consumers, no clarity has been provided on what rate they will be charged if they fail to complete e-KYC by the new deadline. The government has not yet decided on the consequences, the official added.

This is the latest in a string of extensions. The deadline was earlier moved from August 23 to August 31, and then to September 7. The repeated postponements signal that the authorities are focusing on maximum voluntary compliance rather than imposing penalties or cutting off supplies for those yet to comply.

Sources in the oil industry said the e-KYC exercise is unlikely to achieve 100% coverage. Many of the remaining consumers are believed to hold multiple connections in their own name or use connections registered in someone else’s name. For them, completing e-KYC may require surrendering duplicate connections or a formal transfer of ownership, which may be a disincentive, the sources said.

The pace of compliance has remained slow. The official said the compliance level in Telangana was 86% a week ago, implying that only about two percentage points of consumers have completed the process in the past week.

e-KYC links a consumer’s Aadhaar details with their LPG connection through biometric authentication. It was made a prerequisite for receiving LPG cylinders at the subsidised domestic rate. The exercise aims to eliminate fake, duplicate, or inactive connections and ensure that the subsidy reaches the intended household. Under the rules, a household is entitled to a single subsidised LPG connection. Any additional connection has to be charged at the non-subsidised market price.

The three OMCs — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd — are responsible for implementing the e-KYC programme and managing refill supplies. Distributors have been tasked with enrolling customers at their premises through portable biometric devices.

In a separate development, unrelated to the e-KYC exercise, the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has advised OMCs to reduce the waiting period for rural consumers to book another refill from 45 days to 25 days, aligning it with the 25-day norm in urban areas. The 45-day gap between two bookings was introduced at the height of the West Asia crisis as a demand-management measure.

The Ministry’s communication said the revision takes into account the current LPG supply position and a considerable reduction in refill backlogs compared with the earlier situation. The move is expected to ease the inconvenience faced by rural households, who had to wait longer for another cylinder, often for want of a clear timeline. The revised schedule is expected to be implemented by OMCs across the country, including in rural Telangana.