Every day, millions of Indian households rely on LPG cylinders for cooking, but scientists at the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, are working on a homegrown alternative called Dimethyl Ether (DME) that could reduce India’s dependence on imported fuel, ANI reported. 

What is DME and why it matters

Developed at CSIR-NCL, DME is being positioned as a clean fuel that can be produced domestically using coal, biomass, and methanol. Researchers say it closely matches LPG in usage and can help ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves.