Review of Ujjwala Scheme

More than 7.23 crore connections have been provided to poor families under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) against the target of 8 crore connections.

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• Uttar Pradesh topped the list and provided 64,76,981 connections, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 31,30,613 connections.
• A sum of 12,800 crore has been earmarked for the PMUY scheme.
• Earlier in this year, a survey was conducted, which revealed that 98% of households had an LPG connection but also used a chulha (an earthen stove that uses solid fuel).
• The study supports other survey data on rural India’s limited LPG usage and underlines the challenge of getting households to consistently use clean cooking fuel.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched this scheme to provide 5 Crore deposit-free LPG (clean cooking fuel) connections to women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, which were subsequently increased to 8 Crore with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 12800 crore.
• This scheme provides LPG connections to all poor on account of their names not been covered in earlier identified categories like identified through Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) list and in case the names are not appearing in the SECC list, beneficiaries are identified from categories i.e. SC/STs households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY Gramin), Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most backward Classes (MBC), Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes and people residing in Islands/ river islands.

Implementation of PMUY

• Its implementation has resulted in significant increase in national LPG coverage, in general and Eastern States, in particular.
• The scheme has resulted in mass coverage of rural poor households and 48% of the beneficiaries are SC/STs.
• Those beneficiaries, who could not afford to make upfront payment under this scheme for purchase of gas stove and refilling of cylinder, were provided loan facility by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• It is significant to mention that under the PMUY, the average per capita consumption is 3.28. This should be seen as a positive change in the lives of these households which were long dependent on the traditional cooking fuels and methods.
• LPG Panchayats were formed to promote learning through peer group interaction - Kuch Seekhein, Kuch Sikhayein, where apart from experience sharing, it also aims at safe and sustained usage of LPG.
• PMUY implementation has been appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and termed it as a decisive intervention to check the indoor health pollution being faced by the women of the country.

Way Ahead

• PMUY assumes significance in a country that is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% by 2030 from its 2005 levels, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.