New Delhi: India’s domestic LPG production has surged by 36% in a fortnight to meet domestic cylinder demand, while the overall availability of cooking gas remains “worrisome”, the Petroleum Ministry said on Monday. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said consumers of both domestic and commercial LPG cylinders are being encouraged to switch to piped gas. He said city gas distribution companies have launched incentives to promote PNG connections, including free gas worth Rs 500 for domestic consumers by Indraprastha Gas in Delhi-NCR; Waiver of Rs 500 registration fee for domestic PNG connections and security deposit for commercial consumers by Mumbai-based Mahanagar Gas; and waiver of security deposit for all commercial connections by Bharat Petroleum. India is relatively comfortable as far as crude oil availability is concerned, with officials admitting that pressure on LPG supplies is evident due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that witnesses the transit of energy supplies from West Asian countries to India. India imports about 90% of its crude oil requirements, 50% of its natural gas and 60% of its LPG requirements. More than half of India’s crude oil, about 30% of gas and 85-90% of LPG imports from West Asian countries go through the Strait of Hormuz. Unlike crude, LPG has no strategic reserves, and officials said gas was being arranged from any possible source. While India has partially mitigated the disruption in crude supply by sourcing oil from countries including Russia, gas supplies to industrial users have been reduced, and LPG availability for commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants has been limited so that domestic consumers do not feel the pinch. While Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said India was tapping more sources such as the US, Norway, Canada and Russia for LPG, officials on Monday declined to share details on the additional cargo secured so far. Sharma said no dry-out has been reported at LPG dealerships and action is being taken against hoarding and black marketing. He said online booking has increased from 84% to 90%, and delivery authentication coverage has been increased from 53% to 72% to prevent diversion of cylinders at the distributor level.