Better access to water, sanitation but only 63% use clean fuel: Mospi

Goa (99.2%) has the highest share of households with access to clean cooking fuel

Recent findings from the Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey, released by the National Statistical Office on Wednesday, reveal that 97.8 per cent of households have toilet facilities and 95.7 per cent have access to improved sources of drinking water. However, only 63.4 per cent of households use clean fuel for cooking.

The survey for the July 2022–June 2023 period indicates that 92.9 per cent of households in urban areas used clean cooking fuel, while the share of households using clean fuel in rural areas stood at merely 49.5 per cent. For households with access to clean drinking water, the share was 94.9 per cent in rural areas and 97.5 per cent in urban areas.

A state-wise analysis of the data reveals that Goa (99.2 per cent) has the highest share of households with access to clean cooking fuel, followed by Sikkim (97.2 per cent), Telangana (97.2 per cent), and Karnataka (92.5 per cent). In contrast, Jharkhand (31.7 per cent) has the lowest share of households with access to clean cooking fuel, followed by Chhattisgarh (36.4 per cent), Odisha (36.8 per cent), and Rajasthan (40.4 per cent).

To provide households that previously relied on traditional and hazardous cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, and cow-dung cakes with access to clean cooking fuels, the government launched its flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), in 2016. Under this scheme, the government currently provides a subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kilogram domestic cylinder. In March of this year, the Union Cabinet extended the scheme until the end of 2024-25. According to the latest available data, there are 103.3 million PMUY beneficiaries.

The survey defines the ‘primary source of energy’ for cooking as the source that the household uses most frequently for cooking. A household is categorised as using clean fuel for cooking if it utilises liquefied petroleum gas (cooking gas), biogas, electricity (including that generated by solar or wind power), or a solar cooker.

As part of the 79th round of the National Sample Survey, the survey collected data from households on various indicators, including drinking water, sanitation, energy use, birth registration, and access to transport facilities.

The data collected in this survey represents demand-side information from the households surveyed. In contrast, administrative data, where available, typically reflects supply-side metrics. The report noted that these variations in methodology, scope, and timeframes may affect the comparability of results across different data sources.