Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a very ambitious scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, has been a tremendous success in providing jobs also. Launched on 1 May, 2016, this scheme has provided approximately one lakh jobs. Moreover, more than seven crore LPG connections have already been distributed under this scheme to the needy ones.
Addressing the post budget webinar organized to accelerate development and make public welfare schemes effective,Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameshwar Teli shared this information with the participants. The LPG coverage has also increased from 61.9 % to near saturation level in last five years. As part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, more than 14 crore free LPG refills were provided to the PMUY beneficiaries during COVID-19.The webinar was also attended by Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, representatives from oil marketing companies, distributors and cylinder manufacturers.
Jain said that there is a need to make coordinated efforts to take Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana door-to-door. He said that to make the scheme effective, special attention should be given to include self-help groups, creation of LPG Bank to serve as micro-finance for refills, to establish the network of micro distributors, along with leveraging existing social network and institutional knowledge to attract consumers for refill.
Even the loan arrangement for cylinder refil, has also started in several parts of the country, increasing the refill number. Women empowerment is getting a big boost through the Ujjwala scheme. It is very interesting and encouraging to note here that under the GiveItUp initiative, more than one crore people themselves gave up the subsidy on LPG, which benefited the needy people.
Prime Minister LPG Panchayats are organized to take the Ujjwala scheme door to door. Before the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana started, LPG connection was considered an urban product, a cooking fuel for the people living in cities and towns, but through the Ujjwala scheme, this facility is now easily available to the poor living in the villages as well. The concept of micro distributors may also be explored to meet the immediate demand of the beneficiaries of the scheme.
Due to an increase in demand due to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the companies are getting the best cylinders manufactured keeping in mind the safety standards, as well as supplying raw materials and regular checking of cylinders to many people. owing to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the peoeple coming under the network of the agencies, have also increased substantially.
