Factors affecting access to clean cooking fuel among rural households in India during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper investigates the factors affecting access to clean cooking fuel among rural Indian households during the COVID-19 outbreak, based on World Bank's rural impact survey, covering 2731 rural households. Our analysis shows a significant decline in access to clean fuel among rural households from 35% in 2018 i.e. before COVID-19 to 19.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic. This implies that in order to meet their cooking needs, many rural households have switched from conventional fuels, which have numerous health and environmental concerns. The association between states and socio-demographic profiles of rural households with access to sources of cooking fuel shows a significant difference. The analysis results further indicate that socio-demographic characteristics and asset holdings of the rural households are the key factors that determine access to clean cooking fuel during COVID-19. Among the socio-demographic variables, age, gender, family size, social category, and income level are estimated to be significant factors that affect the access to clean fuel for cooking. Similarly, ownership of assets such as exclusive kitchen room, refrigerator, pressure cooker, television, and furniture are significant factors affecting access to clean cooking fuel among Indian rural households. Additionally, this study provides policy insights on developing mechanisms to ensure that rural households have an access to clean cooking fuel during crisis situations such as COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Clean energy; Cooking fuel; India; Rural households.