In view of the increasing prices of the LPG cylinders and since a major share of the LPG demand in the country is met through the imports, there is an urgent need to revisit the pathways in which the energy demand for residential cooking can be met in a sustainable manner in India. The heavy dependence on LPG for the household cooking in the country might turn out to be problematic from the viewpoint of energy security. Therefore, streamlining the energy source used in the residential cooking along the country’s larger energy transition and energy security plans would be the most viable pathway towards achieving affordability. A recent study has showed that annually about 4.8 lakh premature deaths In India are linked to household air pollution caused by the use of solid fuel. With the cost of LPG going up, there is a possibility that a large population belonging to the low-to medium income group will be reverting to cooking with solid biomass which could lead to a more hazardous situation from the public health point of view. In view of this, one proposal is to evaluate whether a substantial population in India (say about 40%) can be transformed to adopt electric cooking for major meals.

As India is looking towards a resilient power sector, the electricity generation has been receiving ample attention for the decision makers at the highest level in the Government. Based on the choices of the consumers, a proper customization of the appliance needs to be ensured, while the
price should be within the affordable limits. The price can only be reduced if the appliances are produced by the vendors at a large-scale. This will require a large-scale deployment across the households, which is heavily contingent upon the consumer behavior. In order to transform the
household habits of the consumers, a large investment may be required to create awareness through appropriate public relations and community engagement channels. In order to be able to suggest some actionable recommendations to the decision makers for ‘an energy transition in the residential cooking sector’,the study is expected to culminate into a final consolidated report will be shared with the funding agency, the collaborators, and the other takeholders including the policymakers in the Government of India.