Nearly 80 pc of Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries have come back for second refill: Dharmendra Pradhan

Nearly 80 per cent of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries have come back for the second refill, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.

"Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have informed that PMUY beneficiaries have taken more than 24 crore LPG refills up to December 2018. OMCs have further informed that nearly 80 per cent of PMUY beneficiaries who have completed one year from date of subscription voucher released as on 31.12.2018 have come back for the second refill," he said.

"Adoption and use of LPG on a sustained basis by a beneficiary of PMUY involves behavioural change. The use of LPG by PMUY beneficiary household depends on several factors which include food habits, cooking habits, availability and accessibility to LPG, the price of LPG, etc. Fuel stacking by PMUY beneficiaries cannot be ruled out on account of easy availability of firewood, cow dung, etc., at free of cost," said Pradhan.

Under the PMUY, a beneficiary can either make an upfront payment towards the purchase of hot-plate (stove) or first refill or the both or has the option to take a hot plate or the first refill or the both on loan basis from OMCs at zero interest rate. "OMCs have informed that they have recovered ₹ 1968.77 crore loan amount as on September 30, 2018," said Pradhan.