PM UJJWALA YOJANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Scheme)

Context: Recently, the center approved the expansion of PM Ujjwala Yojana over three years from Financial Year 2023-24 to 2025-26.

PM Ujjwala Yojana

• Launched: May 2016.
• Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Objective: To make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households that were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes, etc.
• Target: LPG connections to 5 crore women members of BPL households.
• Beneficiaries: Women beneficiaries from 7 more categories- SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, and Islands.

Initiatives to expand LPG coverage

• PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hastantarit Labh): Instead of providing LPG cylinders at subsidized price, those were sold at market price, and applicable subsidy was directly transferred to individual’s bank account electronically.
• GIVE IT UP: Instead of removing subsidies forcefully, people were encouraged to voluntarily surrender their subsidies.