India News | Govt Extends Rs 200 Subsidy on LPG Cylinder Under Ujjwala Scheme by 1 Year
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The government on Friday extended the Rs 200 per LPG cylinder subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) by one year in the wake of high prices of petroleum products in the international market.
New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) The government on Friday extended the Rs 200 per LPG cylinder subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) by one year in the wake of high prices of petroleum products in the international market.
The move will benefit 9.6 crore families.
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of PMUY, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.
As of March 1, 2023, there were 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
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Further, the minister said the total expenditure will be Rs 6,100 crore for the financial year 2022-23 and Rs 7,680 crore for 2023-24.
The subsidy is credited directly to the bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.
Thakur said there has been a sharp increase in international prices of LPG due to various geopolitical reasons and it is important to shield PMUY beneficiaries from high LPG prices.
An official release said that targeted support to PMUY consumers encourages them for continuous use of LPG.
"It is important to ensure sustained LPG adoption and usage among PMUY consumers so that they can completely switch to cleaner cooking fuel," it said.
The average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 20 per cent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2021-22.
All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for the targeted subsidy.
To make liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a clean cooking fuel, available to rural and deprived poor households, the government launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016, to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)