The strong impact of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has been seen. As per official data, a record 17 crore customers have taken new LPG connections in the last 9 years. Due to such a large number, the number of LPG consumers has doubled to 31.26 crore. Active LPG consumers were 14.52 crore in April 2014, which has now increased to 31.26 crores.
Revolution came from PM Ujjwala Yojana
The rapid increase in new LPG connections is due to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). LPG coverage was only 62 percent in the year 2016, which increased to 104.1 percent in 2022 last year. There was a time when it used to take 7-10 days to get a new LPG connection and delivery of a refill cylinder, but now LPG connections are available on demand, and customers can avail of refill delivery within 24 hours in most places.
As per the data, till January 30, 2023, the total number of connections released under PMUY is 9.58 crore. Last month on March 24, 2023, the Union Cabinet approved a subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year for PMUY beneficiaries.
What is PM Ujjwala scheme?
PMUY was launched on May 01, 2016, with an aim to provide free LPG connection to every poor household. PMUY was launched with the aim to protect the health of women and children by shifting the kitchen from firewood and other smoky cooking mediums to cleaner fuels.
Under this scheme, the government provides deposit-free LPG connections to eligible households with the financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection and free LPG refill and gas stove for the first time.
The scheme was expanded after achieving the initial target.
The initial target of PMUY was to provide LPG connections to women members of 5 crores of BPL households. After achieving this target, the target of this scheme was increased to 8 crores of LPG connections. Under Ujjwala 2.0, the process of providing additional one crore LPG connections on a pan-India basis was started on August 10, 2021, to reach every household.
