Ujjwala beneficiaries can get free domestic cooking gas cylinder till September

News: The Union cabinet has approved an extension till end September for availing free cooking gas cylinders under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY).

Facts:

• Launched Year: 2016
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Aim: To replace the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas).
• Objectives:
  • Empower women and protect their health 
  • Reduce the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel 
  • Reduce the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel and 
  • Prevent young children from a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution.
• Features: Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.
• Target: Initially the target was installation of 5 crore LPG connections by 2019.But the target was revised to 8 crore which has been achieved in September,2019.

Additional Facts:

• LPG Panchayats: It serves as a platform for interaction between those who received LPG cylinders under PMUY by raising awareness among LPG users about proper use of clean fuel and its advantages.