Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has been one of the biggest achievements towards women empowerment. PMUY in the last five years, the LPG coverage has increased from 55 per cent to over 97 per cent. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has acted as one of the biggest catalyst of socio-economic change in the status of women in the country.
About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on May 1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, it was launched in West Bengal, on the eve of Independence Day, on 14th August, 2016 at Nazrul Manch in Kolkata.
Salient features of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) Scheme are as under :-
(i) LPG connection is released in the name of adult woman of the poor family, subject to the condition that no LPG connection exists in the name of any family member of the household and fulfilling other terms and conditions.
(ii) Initially, the beneficiaries under PMUY were identified either from SECC list or from seven other identified categories. Subsequently, Government has extended the benefit to all left out poor families under PMUY subject to fulfilment of terms & conditions.
(iii) Under the Scheme, cash assistance upto Rs 1600/- for providing new LPG connection is provided by the Central Government.
(iv) The beneficiary bears the cost of Hot Plate and purchase of first refill. The beneficiary has the option to take Hot Plate or purchase first refill or the both on loan basis from OMCs at zero interest and the same is recovered through subsidy.
