Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana

The cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana– a scheme for providing LPG to households Below Poverty Line.

Flash points

• Pradhan Manri Ujjwal Yojana – a scheme to provide LPG to women of all households below poverty line is approved by the CCEA
• The scheme is estimated at the cost of 8000 crores
• The scheme will benefit five crore families below poverty line
• It ensures a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households
• This Scheme would be implemented over three years, namely, the FY 2016–17, 2017-18 and 2018-19
• According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels
• Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country
• It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas
• Finance Minister in Budget speech had announced a budgetary provision of 2000 crore for 2016-17 to provide deposit free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families

Key points

• CCEA – Cabinet committee of Economic Affairs
• CCEA headed by PM Narendra Modi