Determinants of household choice of cooking fuel in India: evidence from National Family Health Survey 5

Purpose - More than 40% of Indian households still rely on unclean cooking fuels, exposing particularly women and children to adverse health effects. This paper explores the factors determining a household’s cooking fuel choice in India. Design/methodology/approach - The study used the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019-21) dataset. A chi-square test and a logistic regression were used for empirical analysis. Cooking fuel was categorized as “clean” and “unclean” cooking fuel. Findings - The result shows that around 47% of the households are still using unclean cooking fuel in India. Households with a better-educated or female head, those with smaller family sizes, those with a higher level of wealth and those located in urban areas are more likely to use clean cooking fuel. Similarly, households headed by younger individuals and Muslim households are linked to more usage of clean cooking fuels. However, Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) households and those headed by older individuals are less likely to use clean cooking fuels. Research limitations/implications - The cross-sectional nature of data enables us to draw only associations between the variables and not causal relationships between them. The findings of this study have important implications for household energy policies in India and other developing nations. There is a need for policymakers to seriously consider socioeconomic factors in addressing issues and challenges associated with household energy consumption. Originality/value - The study extends the empirical literature on determinants of household cooking fuel choice using the latest round of National Family Health Survey data from India. Peer review - The peer review history for this article is available at:https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2023-0988