Source: Press Information Bureau
Nearly seven crore connections released under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Aim of the scheme
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to safeguard the health of women & children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel – LPG, so that they don’t have to compromise their health in smoky kitchens or wander in unsafe areas collecting firewood.
Salient features of PMUY scheme
- LPG connection is released in the name of adult woman of the poor family, subject to the condition that no LPG connection exists in the name of any family member of the household and fulfilling other terms and conditions.
- Initially, the beneficiaries under PMUY were identified either from SECC list or from seven other identified categories. Subsequently, the Government has extended the benefit to all left out poor families under PMUY subject to fulfilment of terms & conditions.
- Under the Scheme, cash assistance upto Rs 1600/- for providing new LPG connection is provided by the Central Government.
- The beneficiary bears the cost of Hot Plate and purchase of first refill. The beneficiary has the option to take Hot Plate or purchase first refill or both on loan basis from OMCs at zero interest and the same is recovered through subsidy.
- Connection under PMUY is released to all eligible poor families and the scheme is under implementation across all the States/UTs and Districts
Target beneficiaries
- Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections are to be provided to BPL households. The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories.
- BPL is a person/ household who suffers from at least one deprivation under the Socio-Economic Caste census (SECC) – 2011 Database.
- While the selection of beneficiaries would be from the BPL families only, preference would be given to SC/ST and weaker sections of society. While providing the new connections to BPL households, priority would be given to the States which have lower LPG coverage (compared to the national average) as on 1st Jan, 2016.
- Release of LPG connection under this Scheme shall be in the name of the women belonging to the BPL family.
The Government has also decided to cover the following categories under the Scheme;
- All SC/STs households beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(PMAY) (Gramin)
- Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY)
- Forest dwellers
- Most Backward Classes (MBC)
- Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes
- People residing in Islands
- People residing in river islands.
Expansion of beneficiaries list under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)in 2018 has cleared the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to release deposit free LPG connections to poor families, who have not been considered earlier for release of LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) on account of their names not been covered either in Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) list or the seven identified categories.
Now, poor families who could not get LPG connection under PMUY are now eligible to get a connection subject to fulfilling the eligibility norms and furnishing required documents
