India now No 2 LPG importer amid drive to use cleaner kitchen fuel

Mumbai

INDIA toppled Japan as the world's second-largest importer of liquefied petroleum gas as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge to provide cooking gas cylinders to the poor and wean them off polluting fuels, drove up consumption.

Imports of LPG, mostly used as cooking fuel, soared 23 per cent during the financial year that ended March 31 to 11 million tonnes, according to data from the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Japan's imports slipped 3.2 per cent during the same period to 10.6 million tonnes, according to its finance ministry. China remains the world's top importer.