Why cancelling the LPG subsidy is a poor option

New research by Bjorn Larsen  outlines policies which could improve the lives of millions of people in Andhra Pradesh by reducing the pollution caused by indoor cookstoves. Almost 40% of the population in AP still use solid fuels such as coal, wood and charcoal for cooking, giving off dangerous fumes and resides, especially in rural areas. In 2016, an estimated 27,000 people died in AP as a result of household air pollution.

Air pollution kills more than 16 lakh people in India every year — more than smoking, malnutrition or even a lack of water and sanitation. And while the toxic soup of outdoor air pollution over Delhi and many other cities rightly gets a lot of attention, indoor air pollution from household cooking and heating with biomass fuels kills almost as many, or about eight lakh people, every year. A majority of rural households continue to use biomass (such as wood and cow dung) as their primary cooking fuel.

Various measures have promoted cooking with LPG, a significantly cleaner fossil fuel. An LPG subsidy is supposed to make sure that the poor can afford clean cooking fuel."

Read more about the reseach in Hindustan Times.