Ujjawal yojna

The article highlights the implications of increasing prices of subsidised LPG on the success of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Price increase of subsidised LPG

Subsidised LPG prices have increased by a massive 50% in this financial year alone.

This would have a significant impact on the government's flagship scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Since 2016, PMUY has provided LPG connections to 80 million poor households to reduce women's drudgery and indoor air pollution.

Providing an upfront connection subsidy of 1,600, PMUY helped expand LPG coverage to more than 85% of households.

Challenges

Large-scale primary surveys by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) suggest that, on average, recent PMUY beneficiaries consumed only about half the LPG compared to long-standing regular consumers.

Limited uptake of LPG among poor households has two main reasons.

First, the effective price of LPG is not affordable for such households, despite the subsidy.

Second, many rural consumers have access to freely available biomass, making it difficult for LPG to…