Cabinet approves expansion of beneficiaries under Ujjwala Yojana

Union Cabinet on Monday approved the expansion in the scope of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to cover those poor families who are not having LPG connection and are not covered under the existing beneficiary categories of the scheme.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Ujjwala Yojana has so far reached around 5,86,000 beneficiaries. "Cabinet on Monday decided to make the scheme universal," he said.

"The poor families not having LPG connections will submit applications and give self-declaration. This step will help the scheme reach 100 per cent households," he told reporters after the Cabinet briefing.

With further expansion in the scope of eligible categories, all poor households who are not covered under any of other categories will benefit from the Ujjwala Yojana. "However, this is subject to fulfilling eligibility norms and furnishing required documents," Pradhan said.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched on May 1, 2016, by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This initiative aims to safeguard the health of women and children from the smoke emitted from the households using firewood for cooking purposes.

Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families with a support of Rs 1600 per connection in the next three years.