Centre hikes LPG subsidy for Ujjwala beneficiaries to Rs 300 per cylinder

The Centre on Wednesday increased the subsidy to Rs 300 per cylinder from Rs 200, paid to poor women who got cooking gas connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

During a briefing on Cabinet decisions, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, "The beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will get a subsidy of Rs 300 per cylinder."
 

The Ujjwala beneficiaries currently pay Rs 703 per 14.2-kg cylinder as against the market price of Rs 903. After the decision of the Union Cabinet, they will now pay Rs 603.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

In May 2016, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced the "Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana" (PMUY) as a flagship scheme with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to rural households which were dependent on firewood, coal, and cow-dung cakes.

In the first year of its launch, 22 million connections were distributed. As of October 2017, 30 million connections were distributed, 44 per cent of which were given to families belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The number crossed 58 million by December 2018.

The scheme has benefitted over 14.6 million BPL families in Uttar Pradesh, 8.8 million in West Bengal, 8.5 million in Bihar, 7.1 million in Madhya Pradesh, 6.3 million in Rajasthan, and 3.24 million in Tamil Nadu.