Characteristics that impact rural communities' ability to access clean cooking fuel:An analytical study

Employing qualitative information from three diverse rural Indian cooking fuels, this paper abstracts the various initiatives to adopt clean cooking fuel. Due to India's rapid economic growth, the need for cooking energy, particularly gaseous fuel, has exponentially increased yearly. The two main supporting pillars of India's current energy strategy are fossil fuels and natural gas. The exploitation of fossil fuels impacts the ecology. Moreover, It might be challenging to decide whether to implement new technology due to low acceptance rates or widespread resistance in the Indian rural clean cooking approach. In this context rudimentary analysis has been performed to comprehend the variables influencing the adoption of clean cooking fuel in the Indian rural community. Various SWOT factors have been outlined through literature and stakeholders survey. In addition, fuzzy-TOPSIS analysis has been done to rank the fuel on the basis of clean cooking approach and sustainability. Closeness coefficient 0.60, 0.81and 0.650 was found for LPG, Biogas and PNG, respectively. However, the biogas system (0.81) shows the most potential for a clean and sustainable cooking approach. The analysis shows that the cooking system is constrained by various factors such as economic feasibility, ease of use, availability of cooking fuel and social acceptance of such fuel.