Posted on by Insights Editor
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

Topics Covered: Schemes for the vulnerable sections of the society.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

What to study?

For Prelims: PMU- key features.

For Mains: PMUY- objectives, features, significance and measures needed to sustain the momentum.

 Context: Over 1.51 Crore free LPG cylinders distributed so far to the PMUY beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) in this month.

 Background:

Under the PMGKY, several relief measures have been announced by the central Government for the welfare of poor, and one of the important component of the Yojana is to provide 3 LPG cylinders (14.2 kg) free to over 8 crore beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana(PMUY) over the period of April to June 2020. The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are distributing 50 to 60 lakh cylinders per day, which includes about 18 lakh free cylinders to PMUY beneficiaries.

Key features of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:

Aim: To provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households.

Goal: A deposit-free LPG connection is given to eligible with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.

Eligibility criteria:

  1. Applicant must a woman above the age of 18 and a citizen of India.
  2. Applicant should belong to a BPL (Below Poverty Line) household.
  3. No one in the applicant’s household should own an LPG connection.
  4. The household income of the family, per month, must not exceed a certain limit as defined by the government of the Union Territories and State Government.
  5. The name of the applicant must be in the list of SECC-2011 data and should match with the information available in the BPL database that Oil Marketing Companies have.
  6. Applicant must not be a recipient of other similar schemes provided by the government.

Objectives of the scheme are:

  1. Empowering women and protecting their health.
  2. Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.
  3. Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.
  4. Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.

Insta Links:

Prelims Link:

  1. Which ministry implements PMUY?
  2. When was it launched?
  3. Eligibility for PMUY?
  4. Incentives for Oil marketing companies?
  5. Is there any financial assistance available under the scheme?

Mains Link:

Discuss the key features and significance of PMUY.

Sources: pib.