Ujjwala Scheme: Govt increases Cooking Gas Subsidy

Context

The Cabinet has approved the continuance of a targeted subsidy of Rs. 300 per consumer under the PM Ujjwala Yojana.

Key Points

• In a major development under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), beneficiaries will henceforth be entitled to get a maximum of 12 refills in a year for their free cooking gas supplies. 
• These refills will be subsidised, and the subsidy will be directly credited into the beneficiary’s bank accounts. A total outlay of around Rs 12,000 crore has been tentatively estimated for 2024-25.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is a flagship scheme of the Government of India to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Launched on 1 June 2016, its prime objective is to focus on women from BPL (Below Poverty Line) households, first to be duly entitled to clean cooking fuel, e.g., liquefied petroleum gas. 
• The following ensures protection against being insensitive to the health interests of women and children. 
• It means those who have access to clean cooking fuel are no longer forced to cook using dirty and unhygienic cooking fuels.

Key features of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana include

Target Beneficiaries

• The system is principally oriented toward BPL women, with the focus group attaching them to the facility and benefit seekers of schemes such as Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), forest dwellers, and other socially vulnerable groups—that of Chore and Kori.

Provision of LPG Connection

• An LPG connection is given in the name of the female member of an identified family in the SECC database. Large numbers of poor families automatically become eligible for this inclusion.

Financial Support

• This is supported by the finance for the means of the LPG connection so as to cater to the cost, since the cost, at the very outset, may prove to be a stumbling block for BPL families.

Safety and Health Benefits

• Under the scheme, free LPG connections would be given to the BPL families in an attempt to check the health hazards of the fossil fuels. It would avoid at least 80,000 deaths caused by acute health hazards due to indoor air pollution in women and small children.

Environmental Benefits

• The move to cleaner fuel helps in reducing deforestation for firewood and lowering pollution levels.

Economic Empowerment

• The scheme is going to bring various indirect benefits like the time-saving element with the women, employment opportunities in rural areas with regard to the supply of LPG.

Conclusion

The Government of India, under the Prime Minister’s Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), has already expanded eligibility for subsidies on LPG cylinders to fix them precisely for poor women from BPL (Below Poverty Line) households. The subsidy per cylinder has been increased from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300, applicable for up to 12 refills per year. This continued government commitment is for the raising of standards of health and impacts on the environment from clean cooking solutions. 

Source: PIB

UPSC Prelims Practice questions

Q.The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana primarily targets which section of the society?

A) Urban middle-class families

B) Rural Below Poverty Line (BPL) households

C) All households above the poverty line

D) Corporate employees

Ans- “B”

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