Original Article Journal of Social Inclusion Studies 6(1) 97–112, 2020 2020 Indian Institute of Dalit Studies Reprints and permissions: in.sagepub.com/journals- permissions-india DOI: 10.1177/2394481120944780 journals.sagepub.com/home/sis 1 People’s Foundation of Research, Action and Development,Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2 Institute for Human Development, New Delhi, India. 3 Energy Studies Programme, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Corresponding author: Rahul Ranjan, Institute for Human Development, Patparganj, New Delhi 110092, India. E-mail: rkrahul555@gmail.com Decomposing the Gaps in Access to LPG across Socio-Religious Groups in Rural India Sudershan Singh 1 , Rahul Ranjan 2 and Oliver Nelson Gonsalves 3 Abstract This article investigates the patterns of household cooking fuel choice and its determining factors for various socio-religious groups in rural India using NSS 68th Consumption Expenditure round. The article also studies how the inter- household gaps result in many levels of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) access for households belonging to various socio-religious groups. In this regard, the application of a logistic model for the considered socio-religious groups highlights the importance of income and the education level of different members of the households. Further, the differences in the probability of access to LPG among various socio-religious groups, with respect to upper caste Hindus, are decomposed using Fairlie decomposition method. The gap in income determines a major proportion of the gap, followed by the education level of the members. We also find that the Scheduled Tribes (STs) face the problem of availability of LPG, while other socio-religious groups, when compared to upper caste Hindus, either face affordability issues or possess a taste for traditional fuel. Keywords LPG, free firewood, caste discrimination, development Introduction The emphasis on the provision of clean cooking fuels has grown due to their ability to convey (and thereby improve) ‘triple dividends’—health conditions