Building Resilient Kitchens: India’s Shift Beyond Single-Fuel Cooking

As cooking fuel disruptions continue to affect households across India, the response is unfolding not just in urban kitchens, but across diverse geographies and income groups. Rather than shifting to a single alternative, many households are adopting a mix of solutions that balance cost, access, and reliability. In this conversation, Ankit Mathur, Co-Founder and CEO of Greenway Grameen, shares how induction cooking, along with improved biomass technologies, is gaining traction as part of this broader transition. The discussion moves beyond short-term supply concerns to examine how everyday cooking decisions are being reshaped by the need for flexibility and energy security. It also brings into focus the role of affordability, local fuel availability, and behavioural familiarity, especially in rural and semi-urban contexts. 

Read the full interview below for deeper insights into how India’s kitchens are adapting to a more flexible and resilient energy future.

Q&A

Q. With the ongoing LPG supply disruptions, how do you see induction cooking evolving from a “backup” option to a primary solution in Indian homes?

A. Many households have started looking at alternatives, with induction gaining ground in urban areas and improved biomass solutions likely to see an uptake in rural and semi-urban markets. Even in major cities, commercial-grade biomass options such as our Yula stove are attracting interest from HoReCa businesses and other organisations with bulk cooking requirements. 

The shift is less about one alternative replacing LPG and more about having multiple options to ensure energy security.

We can expect households and businesses alike to combine cooking methods to hedge against rising costs and unreliable supply. The wider shift is towards a kitchen that is harder to disrupt.

Q. We are hearing reports that induction cooktops and alternative cooking methods are going out of stock due to a surge in demand. What trends are you seeing from an industry perspective?

A. In urban markets, induction cooktops have moved quickly, with supply chains at times struggling to keep pace with the sudden rise.

There is also renewed interest in efficient biomass cookstoves, driven in large part by commercial users like hospitality businesses and small enterprises. For these users, fuel costs and availability are operating necessities, and the current situation has pushed many of them to move more quickly toward alternatives. Solutions that draw on locally available fuels are also attracting growing interest. Demand is spread across categories, driven by a simple need for reliable, affordable cooking solutions.

Q. Will this spike lead to a long-term behavioural shift, or will households return to LPG once supply stabilises?

A. Consumers are conscious of costs, reliability, and energy security, so the behavioural shift that has taken root is difficult to reverse. While LPG use is likely to recover as supply and affordability stabilise, the crisis may have accelerated a degree of lasting fuel diversification, with households continuing to rely on induction and biomass alongside LPG.

Q. What are the key long-term environmental and health benefits of transitioning to energy-efficient or biomass cooking?

A. In rural households, the health impact is immediate and visible. Cooking over open fires or with polluting fuels is a well-documented cause of respiratory problems. Well-designed biomass cookstoves burn fuel more efficiently, generating cost savings and slowing depletion of firewood stocks and forests. They produce far less smoke, significantly reducing household air pollution (HAP) and lowering carbon emissions. For rural women—who shoulder most of the cooking and fuel-gathering responsibilities—the health gains are immediate and transformative.

Q. High upfront costs remain a barrier. How is the industry addressing affordability?

A. The purchase price is only part of the picture. Once fuel savings over time are factored in, biomass-based cooking solutions stack up well economically for households. The industry is also stepping up on financing to make the transition easier.

CSR-backed programmes and microfinance partnerships are helping households manage the upfront cost of switching. Product design matters just as much. The long-term value lies in consistent fuel efficiency. Used regularly, these solutions deliver steady savings and make day-to-day fuel expenses easier to manage.

Q. Are rural households increasingly adopting improved biomass cookstoves or diversified cooking methods alongside LPG?

A. Rural households have long combined LPG, biomass, and other fuels based on what is available, affordable, and required for cooking.

Now, efficient cookstoves are seeing increased adoption as they align well with existing cooking habits and require little behaviour change, while also delivering improved performance and lower emissions.

Q. How can CSR initiatives accelerate adoption of cleaner and safer cooking solutions in underserved communities?

A. Partnerships between CSR initiatives, NGOs, self-help groups, and local networks can accelerate clean cooking adoption by targeting three levers: Access, Affordability, and Adoption. For most rural families, the upfront cost is the first and largest barrier, so end user financing support is indispensable. Awareness and trust matter just as much. Simple demonstrations and hands-on training help people understand unfamiliar cooking solutions better, but what is most impactful is watching a neighbour make the switch. Finally, long-term community engagement and regular follow-ups help ensure sustained use.

Q. What innovations or trends will define the “modern Indian kitchen” in the coming years?

A. The modern Indian kitchen will not be built around a single fuel but feature a mix of LPG, electric, and biomass, with households choosing between them based on cost, convenience, and availability. While urban and rural kitchens might differ in the fuels and technologies they use, both will see reliability and flexibility as non-negotiable.

Q. From a broader lens, how can biomass cookstoves and diversified fuels strengthen India’s energy security and sustainability goals?

A. Efficient biomass cookstoves combine energy access, health, and climate action, aligning closely with SDGs 7, 3, and 13. Where imported fuels such as LPG are vulnerable to supply shocks, they empower households and businesses to use readily available fuels in a cost-effective, energy-efficient, climate-friendly manner. Along with other clean cooking technologies, the adoption of improved cookstoves will play a key role in building a more resilient energy system.