Praveen was in for a surprise when he checked his bank statement in July after six months. The lockdowns and fear of the pandemic had prevented a visit to his bank branch in rural Uttar Pradesh. He was hoping for Rs 500-700 to be credited as subsidy for the cooking gas (liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG) he had bought over the years. “I though some Rs 150 or so was being reimbursed for every cylinder I buy.

       But this time the money has not been credited to my account. I wonder where it has gone,” he said. Officially there is no way for Praveen and the thousands of LPG ...