Quick answer: To get any LPG subsidy on a Bharatgas connection, you must join PAHAL, the direct benefit transfer scheme for LPG. You can join in one of two ways: link Aadhaar to both your bank account and your LPG connection, or, if you do not have Aadhaar, give your bank account details to your Bharatgas distributor. You can request either through the distributor, or online on My Bharatgas (my.ebharatgas.com) after logging in. The subsidy the ministry currently describes is targeted at Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana customers: ₹300 per 14.2 kg cylinder. From 1 October 2026, you must also complete biometric Aadhaar authentication to book refills at the subsidised price.
New rule: biometric Aadhaar authentication for subsidised refills (from 1 October 2026)
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced on 19 September 2026 that biometric Aadhaar authentication is mandatory for booking subsidised domestic LPG refills from 1 October 2026. The ministry said the aim is to make sure subsidised cylinders reach eligible households and to stop domestic cylinders being diverted to commercial use.
- Who needs to act: consumers who have not yet completed biometric authentication. By 19 September 2026, about 27.43 crore active domestic consumers (89.9%) had already done it, according to the ministry, and they need to do nothing more.
- How to complete it: at the time of cylinder delivery (the delivery person uses the oil company’s app), at your Bharatgas distributor’s showroom, or yourself in the HelloBPCL app.
- If you do not complete it: news reports of the announcement say refills are then sold at the market price, without subsidy.
This is separate from joining PAHAL (described below), which decides where the subsidy is paid. If you are unsure of your status, ask your distributor or check in the HelloBPCL app.
PAHAL: how LPG subsidy works today
Bharatgas is the LPG brand of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The subsidy on domestic cylinders from all three oil companies (Bharatgas, Indane and HP Gas) is paid under one scheme: PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh), also called DBTL, short for Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG.
According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas:
- An earlier DBTL scheme began on 1 June 2013 in 291 districts. Aadhaar was compulsory under that version.
- After problems faced by consumers, the government relaunched it as PAHAL in November 2014, starting in 54 districts. It went nationwide on 1 January 2015.
- Under PAHAL, customers without Aadhaar can also join by giving their bank account details to the LPG distributor.
- You buy the cylinder at the market price, and any subsidy is credited to your bank account after delivery is confirmed.
- More than 29 crore LPG consumers had joined by 1 April 2023, and PAHAL is recognised by Guinness World Records as the largest cash-transfer scheme by number of households.
How much subsidy is paid now?
This is the part most older articles miss. The ministry’s current subsidy page describes a targeted subsidy for Ujjwala customers. It does not set out a separate amount for other households. Whether you get any credit, and how much, depends on current government decisions, and the SMS from your bank after each delivery shows what was actually paid.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) customers get a targeted subsidy. According to the ministry, this began at ₹200 per 14.2 kg cylinder in May 2022 and was raised by ₹100 in October 2023 to ₹300. It applies to a capped number of refills a year, pro-rated for 5 kg cylinders. The cap and amount are reviewed periodically, so check with your distributor.
The ministry’s PAHAL booklet also says households with an income above ₹10 lakh a year are not eligible for subsidy.
The two ways to join PAHAL
| Route | What you do | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Aadhaar Transfer Compliant (ATC) | Seed your Aadhaar in your bank account, and give your Aadhaar number to your LPG distributor so it is linked to your LPG ID | Anyone with Aadhaar; this is the main route |
| Bank Transfer Compliant (BTC) | Give your bank account details (passbook copy, IFSC) to your LPG distributor | People without Aadhaar, or with trouble linking Aadhaar to their bank |
The ministry says customers of Assam and Meghalaya are exempt from submitting Aadhaar for LPG subsidy.
How to link Aadhaar to your Bharatgas connection
At your distributor (offline)
- Keep these ready:
- your 17-digit LPG ID or consumer number, from the cash memo or subscription voucher;
- a copy of your Aadhaar;
- your bank passbook.
- Ask your Bharatgas distributor for the PAHAL joining form for your route (ATC or BTC). Fill it in and submit it with the copies. Collect an acknowledgement.
- The distributor seeds your Aadhaar or bank details in the LPG database.
- Separately, make sure Aadhaar is seeded in your bank account if you are using the ATC route. Ask your bank, which may authenticate your Aadhaar before seeding it.
Online on My Bharatgas
- Go to my.ebharatgas.com and register as a new user or sign in. Keep your LPG ID and registered mobile number handy.
- Open Join PAHAL under LPG services, and follow the steps for Aadhaar or bank details.
- Use Check PAHAL or DBTL (CTC) status afterwards. “CTC” means “cash transfer compliant”, which is the status you need for subsidy to be paid.
If you do not know your LPG ID, My Bharatgas has a “Find your 17 digit LPG ID” option.
Check whether Aadhaar is mapped to your bank account
Subsidy under the ATC route goes to the bank account mapped to your Aadhaar on the NPCI mapper, the system run by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). If you have several accounts, the money goes to the mapped one, which may not be the one you expect. To check:
- Open the “Bharat Aadhaar Seeding Enabler” (BASE) service on npci.org.in. My Bharatgas points customers to this NPCI service.
- Choose “Get Aadhaar mapped status” to see which bank account is currently mapped.
- Use the mapping history option if you want to see earlier changes.
What happened to the IVRS and SMS methods?
The original version of this article listed four methods in 2017: offline form, online form, IVRS call and an SMS in the format “UID <Aadhaar number>” to 57333 or 52725.
The SMS and IVRS linking numbers date from the early DBTL years, and we could not find them on any current Bharatgas or ministry page. The lpgsubsidy.in form link in the original is also no longer an official source. Use the distributor or My Bharatgas instead.
Oil companies still run IVRS, missed-call and WhatsApp services for booking refills, according to the ministry. Those are not ways to link Aadhaar.
Staying safe
- If you receive a call or message asking you to “complete LPG KYC” or “link Aadhaar to restart subsidy”, check with your distributor or on my.ebharatgas.com before doing anything.
- Never share an OTP, your Aadhaar biometrics or bank details with a caller.
- For gas leaks, the LPG emergency helpline is 1906.
- Remember that only one LPG connection is allowed per household under the ministry’s LPG Control Order. Surrender any extra connection rather than seeding Aadhaar on two.
For other things you can link with Aadhaar, see our Aadhaar linking overview. For the bigger picture of Aadhaar-based subsidy transfers, read how Aadhaar underpins Digital India. If you have lost your Aadhaar number, see how to retrieve a lost Aadhaar.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aadhaar compulsory for LPG subsidy?
For joining PAHAL, no: you can join with only your bank account details (the BTC route), and residents of Assam and Meghalaya were exempted from Aadhaar seeding. For booking subsidised refills, however, biometric Aadhaar authentication has been required since 1 October 2026; without it, refills are at the market price. Ask your distributor if you cannot complete Aadhaar authentication.
Why am I not getting any LPG subsidy?
The subsidy the ministry currently describes is targeted at Ujjwala (PMUY) customers, so a household outside PMUY may see little or no credit. Ask your distributor what applies to your connection. If you are a PMUY customer, check that your status is “CTC” on My Bharatgas and that Aadhaar is mapped to the right bank account.
Does the same process work for Indane and HP Gas?
Yes. PAHAL is one scheme for all three oil companies. Use your own company’s website or distributor; for Indane and HP Gas the menus differ, but the ATC and BTC routes are the same.
Do I need a new LPG connection to link Aadhaar?
No. Linking is done on your existing connection using your LPG ID.
How do I give up my LPG subsidy?
Use “Give up subsidy voluntarily” on My Bharatgas, or tell your distributor. This was the “Give It Up” campaign, through which more than one crore people opted out, according to the ministry.
Details in this guide were checked in October 2026 against Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas pages (including its PAHAL booklet and the PMUY targeted-subsidy page) and Bharat Petroleum’s My Bharatgas portal. Subsidy amounts change, so confirm the current rate with your distributor before relying on it.
