Centre slashes LPG gas cylinder prices by Rs 200, decides to offer 75 lakh women free gas connections under Ujjwala program

The price of cooking gas has been brought down by the Centre by Rs 200 per cylinder as declared by Union Minister Anurag Thakur during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, August 29. An extra subsidy of Rs 200 for the Ujjwala program has also been approved by the government. For PMUY beneficiaries, the subsidy will now be Rs 400 per cylinder.

“PM Modi has decided Rs 200 reduction in the price of domestic LPG cylinders, for all users. This is a gift from PM Narendra Modi to the women of the country on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and Onam”, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

“In 2014, when the BJP first came to power, only 14.5 crore citizens had domestic LPG connections. Today that number has increased to 33 crore, in which 9.6 crore have been distributed under the Ujjwala scheme”, Thakur further said.

#WATCH | “PM Modi has decided Rs 200 reduction in the price of domestic LPG cylinders, for all users…this is a gift from PM Narendra Modi, to the women of the country, during the occasion of Raksha Bandhan”, says Union Minister Anurag Thakur pic.twitter.com/QTy6YB0x4u

— ANI (@ANI) August 29, 2023

During the meeting, Thakur also announced that the government has decided to offer another 75 lakh women free gas connections under the Ujjwala program on the occasion of Rakhi and Onam.

These women would receive the gas burner, first cooking gas cylinder, and pipe for free as part of the program, Thakur added.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana flagship scheme, the government sights to provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL (below poverty line) families with a support of Rs 1,600 per connection in the next three years. The government allocated an additional Rs 1.6 crore for LPG connections under the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme, which gave migrant households identical privileges.

According to a recent National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, LPG constitutes the main source of energy for 89 percent of urban families and 49.4 percent of rural households in India. Among the states where more than 90 percent of households cook using clean energy are Delhi, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, and Sikkim.

For people who have access to the 2016-launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), LPG costs have been reduced. Notably, the government stated at the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament that as of July 1, 2023, there were 9.59 crore beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana. Thakur reiterated the same on August 29 as he announced that another 75 lakh women will be provided with free gas connections under the Ujjwala program on the occasion of Rakhi and Onam.