Beyond the Barriers of Affordability: An Analysis of India’s Cooking Fuel Support Program Under the COVID-19 Assistance Package

As part of the relief measures to combat the COVID-19 crisis, the Government of India announced the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) program, through which 80 million poor women received cash transfers to purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

This paper analyzes the program's performance and the experience of beneficiaries while purchasing LPG refills from the money disbursed during and after the lockdown. The objective of the study is to assess various social protection interventions of the central and state governments during COVID-19 and suggest improvements to the programs.