Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

LPG usage becomes more prevalent in Urban and Semi-Urban areas of India. The majority of the rural population and families belong to the BPL families are still making use of fossil fuels to cook their meals. The usage of fossil fuels results in serious health hazards for the women of such families. As per the expert, cooking in the open fire has serious health hazards for the women of such families. It causes similar damage as of burning of 400 Cigarettes.  It results in creating indoor air pollution which also causes respiratory disorders in children.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas rolled out the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala scheme in May 2016 under the leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Objective of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

  • To boost up the women empowerment
  • To provide healthy cooking fuel 

Saving women from health hazards of making use of fossil fuel to cook the food

The features of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

  • The scheme will offer 5 Crore LPG connections to the below poverty line families
  • One will get financial support of Rs 1600 for each of the LPG connection given to BPL families
  • The EMI facilities will be offered for purchasing a stove and refill cost ( Interest-free loan)
  • The administrative cost of Rs.1,600 for installation of the LPG will be borne by the Government.
  • The scheme is complementary to the Prime Minister’s ‘Give It Up Campaign’ through which a huge number of middle-class families have voluntarily surrendered their cooking gas subsidy.

Beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme 

The main beneficiaries of the scheme are the women who are from poor families and not having the facility of LPG gas connection in the household.

List of beneficiaries in the SECC 2011 list

  • All SC/ST’s households’ beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)(Gramin)
  • Antoyoday Anna Yojana (AAY)
  • Forest Dwellers
  • Most backward Classes (MBC)
  • Tea and Ex- Tea Garden Tribes
  • Residents of islands and river islands
  • People who are residing in hilly areas including the North-Eastern States by treating them as ‘priority state’

The Eligibility Criteria under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

  • The applicant woman should be above the age of 18 years.
  • The applicant must have a BPL card and must be a rural resident.
  • The applicant must have a savings bank account in any of the nationalized banks to receive the subsidy amount.
  • The applicant’s household must not have any LPG gas connection

Documents Required For PMUY

The documents required to apply for the scheme are:

  • Below Poverty line Ration Card
  • Authorized BPL Certificate /Authorized by the Panchayat Pradhan/ Municipality Chairman)
  • Photo Id - Aadhar Card/ Voters ID
  • A recent passport size photograph

How to apply for an LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana Scheme?

  • A woman of the BPL family not owning the LPG must apply to the LPG distributor for a new connection (in the prescribed format).
  • While applying for the connection, the applicant must provide details like Address, Jandhan/Bank Account, and Aadhar card number.
  • In case the applicant is not having an Aadhar card, efforts will be made for coordination with UIDAI to issue an Aadhar card to the applicant).
  • The LPG fuel officials will match the details provided with the SECC - 2011 database and confirm the BPL status of the family and enter the given details into a dedicated portal given by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMC).
  • The Oil marketing company will conduct the de-duplication exercise and other measures for due diligence electronically.
  • On completion of all the above steps, the LPG connection will be issued by the OMC to the applicant.
  • The release of new connections will also be the responsibility of the Oil Marketing company by organizing the Melas at various locations.

To Conclude…

As a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme for the PMUY beneficiaries, it has been announced that refills of up to three cylinders of 14.2 kg and an advance of the Retail selling price will be transferred by the OMC to the PMUY customer’s bank account. The PMUY beneficiary can make the withdrawals to obtain a refill from the distributor. This scheme was to enable PMUY customers to combat the COVID-19 crisis. The scheme was valid till 30th September 2020.