The Central government has extended the grant of a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for another year. Over 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries get a subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 Kg gas cylinder for up to 12 refills per year under the scheme.
The central government is expected to incur a total expenditure of Rs 7,680 crore for 2023-24. It cost Rs 6,100 crore to the exchequer in the financial year 2022-23. The total expenditure will be Rs 6,100 crore for the financial year 2022-23 and Rs 7,680 crore for 2023-24.
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The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies namely Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have already been providing this subsidy since May 22, 2022.
“There has been a sharp increase in international prices of LPG due to various geopolitical reasons. It is important to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices. Targeted support to PMUY consumers allows them to use LPG,” the CCEA statement added.
It is important to ensure sustained LPG adoption and usage among PMUY consumers so that they can completely switch to cleaner cooking fuel.
The average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 20 percent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2021-22.
All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy. To make Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), a clean cooking fuel, available to rural and deprived poor households, Government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016, to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.
