The Government of India has announced an extension of the Rs 200 per LPG cylinder subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) program for one year in response to the high prices of petroleum products in the global market. This move is expected to benefit 9.6 crore families across the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder, which will be given to PMUY beneficiaries for up to 12 refills annually. The total expense of this subsidy will amount to Rs 6,100 crore for the financial year 2022-23 and Rs 7,680 crore for 2023-24.

According to I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, the subsidy is directly credited to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries, and all PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for the targeted subsidy. As of March 1, 2023, there were 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries. Thakur highlighted that there had been a significant increase in international prices of LPG due to geopolitical reasons, and it is crucial to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices.

To promote the use of entirely clean cooking fuel, the government intends to encourage continued LPG adoption and usage among PMUY consumers. The average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 20% from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2021-22.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched in May 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households in rural and deprived areas to make liquified petroleum gas (LPG) available as clean cooking fuel.

This scheme has successfully increased LPG usage among beneficiaries and promoted cleaner cooking fuel in the country. The extension of the LPG subsidy under PMUY is expected to provide much-needed relief to the beneficiaries and encourage cleaner energy consumption in the country.