India's armed forces are exploring a range of measures to conserve fuel and cooking gas as the ongoing Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, with plans ranging from procuring biogas stoves in the short term to harnessing solar and wind energy on a larger scale, the Indian Express reported, citing senior official.
The Army is moving quickly on alternative cooking sources, with orders to procure biogas stoves described as already "in the pipeline," an official said.
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Officials said the shift could yield significant savings, approximately 156,000 kg of cooking gas is consumed daily across the Army, and about 20% of that, or around 30,000 kg per day, can be saved through biogas alone.
The scale of the challenge is considerable. Every Army unit operates four to six cookhouses feeding 125 to 150 soldiers daily, with each soldier currently authorised 125–135 grams of gas per day for cooking. The Army also operates over 2 lakh vehicles of various types for administrative, operational and training purposes.
"Therefore, there is an enormous consumption of fuel on a daily basis for various administrative and operational duties," the official said.
To reduce that burden, officials said it is being deliberated whether large Army convoys for administrative purposes can be restricted to movements of 400 km, with the rail network maximised beyond that distance.
Vehicle pooling and combining duties such as ration collection and troop transportation are also under consideration. "The use of CNG or electric civil hired transport will be encouraged where possible," an official said.
Officials stressed that operational flying — including reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and troop relocation — will not be affected, though routine flights may be optimised. The measures build on longer-term green energy ambitions. In December last year, reports said that the Armed Forces were planning to utilise an estimated 46,000 acres of defence land for solar and biogas plants.
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Moreover, in October 2024, NTPC partnered with the Army to establish a solar hydrogen-based microgrid at Chushul in Ladakh, designed to deliver 200kW of round-the-clock power and replace existing diesel generators at off-grid locations.
As per report, officials said special implementation drives are expected over the coming weeks.
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