Expansion of Ujjwala okayed; total beneficiaries to rise to 10.35 cr

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for release of 75 lakh LPG connections over three years from 2023-24 to 2025-26. A targeted subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for up to 12 refills per year is being provided to PMUY consumers.

Provisioning of 75 lakh additional Ujjwala connections will take the total number of PMUY beneficiaries to 10.35 crore, an official press release said.

As per the existing modalities of Ujjawala 2.0, the first refill and stove will also be provided free of cost to Ujjwala beneficiaries.

Without continuation of PMUY, eligible poor households may not be able to get their due benefit under the scheme.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide, which is around one-third of the global population, rely on open fires or inefficient stoves fuelled by kerosene, biomass (such as wood, animal dung, and crop waste), and coal for cooking. This leads to harmful household air pollution; it contributed to an estimated 3.2 million deaths annually in 2020, with over 237,000 deaths being children under the age of 5. Achieving a sustainable and pollution-free future requires addressing the issue of household air pollution, especially to prevent suffering among women and children, the release said.

In the past, impoverished communities in India, particularly in rural areas, used traditional fuels like firewood, coal, and dung cakes without being aware of the adverse health effects caused by them. Consequently, they faced health problems without knowing the underlying cause. A heightened mortality risk due to illnesses such as pneumonia, lung cancer, ischaemic heart, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases is extensively reported.

Non-renewable wood fuels for cooking cause a giga-ton of CO2 emissions, and burning residential solid fuels comprise 58 per cent of black carbon emissions. They are also a significant contributor to household air pollution due to incomplete combustion of solid biomass.

Research also indicates that this is a gender problem: girls and women face increased exposure to solid fuels. The PMUY scheme has empowered women economically and socially. With easier access to LPG, women are no longer burdened with the task of collecting firewood or other traditional fuels, which often required long and laborious journeys. This newfound convenience allows them to participate more actively in community life and take up other income-generating opportunities, the release said.