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Recently, Cabinet has approved targeted subsidies to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Consumers.
About
- It has approved a subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year.Â
- The subsidy is credited directly to the bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have already been providing this subsidy since 2022.
- All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy.Â
Need for the Targeted Subsidy
- There has been a sharp increase in international prices of LPG due to various geopolitical reasons. It is important to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices.
- Targeted support to PMUY consumers encourages them to continue usage of LPG. Â
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
- The Government launched PMUY in May 2016, to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.
- Objectives: It aims to safeguard the health of women & children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel – LPG.
- Ensuring women’s empowerment, especially in rural India, the connections will be issued in the name of women of the households.Â
- Ujjwala 2.0: After the successful completion of Ujjwala Phase 1, provision for an additional One crore LPG connections under Ujjwala 2.0 was announced in the Union Budget 2021-22.
- It aims to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
- As on 1st March 2023, there are 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
