Uptake of induction stoves sluggish in low-income Indian households

Induction stove adoption in low-income Indian households remains low due to limited electrical infrastructure and high costs despite rising demand.

E-commerce platforms have seen mounting demand for induction cooktops amid the West Asia crisis, which has led to public anxiety about disruptions to LPG supplies. While prices for cooktops have gone up, supplies remained available on e-commerce platforms in many cities, at least as of Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

While a small minority of Indian households use induction cooktops, only 5% of households had “electric penetration” in their kitchens, Milind Deore, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s Secretary said in a discussion held back in 2024.

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The product segment is competitive online with products selling at less than half of their sticker price. On Amazon, a 1,800 watt cooktop by Pigeon was retailing at ₹1,499, ₹100 higher than its price last week, and higher than its price in the last three months.

However, that price is still less than half the maximum retail price for this specific model. Other models on Amazon, which only provides price history for 90 days, have seen similar trends. A 2,000 watt Cadlec cooktop is also retailing at ₹1,499, but its earlier price was ₹300 less. A similar price hike happened for a cooktop by iBELL Castor.

There are adoption pain points for electric cooktops. Even though the demand for electric and induction cooktops is perhaps unprecedented, adoption may be limited in most households. “We did a household survey of 910 households in the low to medium income group,” Rudrodip Majumdar, assistant professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies said in the 2024 Modern Energy Cooking Forum (MECF) held in New Delhi.