New Delhi, March 17 -- Indian refineries have ramped up LPG production by about 36% since March 5 to meet demand from over 330 million consumers, with the government monitoring supplies amid geopolitical tensions. The government's top priority remains ensuring uninterrupted LPG supplies, particularly for households and priority sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions, petroleum ministry joint secretary Sujata Sharma said. "No dry-outs have been reported at LPG distributorships," she said, adding that online LPG bookings have risen from about 84% to around 90%. Delivery authentication code (DAC) coverage has also expanded from 53% before the crisis to about 72% to prevent diversion at the distributor level. Several states including Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Manipur and Maharashtra have issued orders to allocate non-domestic LPG in line with the government's guidelines, she said. Meanwhile, the government has directed all domestic LPG consumers to complete electronic know your customer (e-KYC) verification through Aadhaar-based biometric authentication. Executives of state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) said that the measure is aimed at checking diversion of LPG cylinders to non-priority sectors. "All domestic LPG consumers are required to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication (e-KYC)," the petroleum ministry said in a post on X and Facebook. "Consumers can now verify from the comfort of their homes using their oil marketing company's mobile app and the Aadhaar FaceRD app." To be sure, annual Aadhaar-based biometric authentication is mandatory for over 105.1 million Ujjwala beneficiaries to avail LPG subsidy. The standard operating procedure of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) also lists biometric authentication as a prerequisite for applying for a new connection. Under PMUY, beneficiaries can receive up to seven LPG refills in a financial year even without completing e-KYC. To avail more than seven refills, however, biometric Aadhaar authentication is required....