Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: Rs 5,000 crores transferred for free delivery of LPG

The GoI has so far transferred Rs 5,000 crores to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). This has been done to provide free LPG cylinders to PMUY beneficiaries.

What is the plan?

The GoI under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package had announced free delivery of LPG cylinders. Under this initiative, free LPG refills were to be provided for a period of three months to the Ujjwala beneficiaries.

This was done to ease lives of the poor during lock down. Under this initiative, 1.26 crore cylinders were booked and 85 lakhs have been delivered so far.

The plan has increased the demand for LPG. In order to fulfil this demand, GoI has signed agreements with Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Current Scenario

There are 27.87 crore LPG consumers in the country. Of this, the PMUY beneficiaries are 8 crores.

PMUY

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched in 2016. The scheme was launched to provide LPG connections to families below poverty line. According to WHO, more than 5 lakh women died in India due to unclean cooking fuel. Hence, the scheme will help in improving the health conditions of women, reduce the cooking time and effort.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2020