The number of people benefitting from the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for providing (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households has crossed 2 crore mark. This feat has been accomplished in less than a year’s time since its launch.
- This unparalleled success has been attributed to serious efforts made by Govt. authorities in implementing the scheme.
- On this accomplishment, PM Narendra Modi expressed his joy through a series of tweets. In one of his tweets he mentioned that “Ujjwala Yojana is guided by a strong commitment to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of poor women.”
About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:
Launch Date: 1st May 2016, from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh
Objective: To provide deposit-free LPG connections with monetary assistance of Rs. 1600/- to women from BPL households, thereby preventing health hazards emanating from usage of unclean cooking fuel and fossil fuel for domestic cooking purpose.
Tag Line: “Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan”
Administered by: Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Financial Outlay & Time Duration: Rs. 8000 crore for three years – Financial Year 2016-17 to Financial Year 2018-19.
Eligibility: Women above the age of 18 years belonging to a BPL household, having her name listed in Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.
#GiveItUp campaign:
This campaign was launched by PM Modi in March 2015. It motivated the rich and prosperous people to come forward and give up their subsidy on LPG so that it can be used for more needy citizens. Till April 2016, about 1 crore people voluntarily gave up their subsidy. Money saved on account of this campaign is now being utilised in Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
LPG Connections in India:
10 crore households out of existing 24 crore households in India are still devoid of LPG connection. They still rely on dung-cakes, wood and coal as primary fuel for cooking.
