Two decisions were taken today… The first decision is that more 75 Lakh LPG connections would be given free of cost in the next 3 years till 2026… This is an extension of Ujjwala Yojana, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said.
New Delhi: The Modi government on Wednesday decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and has approved Rs 1650 crore subsidy for new LPG connection. The Centre will give more 75 Lakh LPG connections free of cost in the next 3 years till 2026. While addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Two decisions were taken today… The first decision is that more 75 Lakh LPG connections would be given free of cost in the next 3 years till 2026… This is an extension of Ujjwala Yojana.”
“The second decision is that the E-courts mission mode project phase 3 worth Rs. 7,210 crores has been approved today. The goal is to establish online and paperless courts… This will make the judicial system more transparent… For paperless courts, e-filing and e-payment systems would be made universal… Cloud storage would be made to store the data. In all court complexes, 4,400 e-service centres would be established,” the minister added.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, “Two decisions were taken today… The first decision is that more 75 Lakh LPG connections would be given free of cost in the next 3 years till 2026… This is an extension of Ujjwala Yojana… The second decision is that the… pic.twitter.com/H0ShPmTt8M
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2023
To recall, in August, the government gave an additional subsidy under the Ujjwala scheme. The additional subsidy has been calculated at Rs 200, which takes total subsidy to Rs 400 per cylinder for PMUY beneficiaries. For the Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries, the price drop of an LPG cylinder is Rs 400 — Rs 200 as price cut and Rs 200 as existing subsidy.
The total financial implication will be Rs.1650 crore for per connection at following rates:
- 14.2 kg Single Bottle Connection – Rs.2200 per connection
- 5 kg Double Bottle Connection – Rs.2200 per connection
- 5 kg Single Bottle Connection – Rs.1300 per connection
As per the existing modalities of Ujjawala 2.0, the first refill and stove will also be provided free of cost to Ujjwala beneficiaries.
A targeted subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for upto 12 refills per year is being provided to PMUY consumers. Without continuation of PMUY, eligible poor households may not be able to get their due benefit under the scheme.
LPG connections to poor households will provide access to clean cooking fuel helps in addressing health problems caused by use of traditional sources of cooking fuel such as fire-wood, coal, cowdung etc. This will in turn enhance productivity of women, raise their quality of life by removing drudgery associated with collection of wood and insure them against non-availability of cooking fuel, at times.
PMUY has been widely praised as a successful social welfare scheme which has majorly contributed to increase in LPG penetration in the country from 62% in 2016 to near saturation now.