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New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said the number of poor households in India getting LPG cylinders at subsidized prices under the Prime Minister Modi-led government’s Ujjwala scheme has reached 10.6 crore, while the number of households getting piped natural gas for cooking has reached 1.56 crore.
He also said that the length of the gas pipeline network across the country now exceeds 25,000 km and the number of compressed natural gas filling stations for vehicles has reached 8,340 in various cities across the country.
“The sound of progressive India is subtle but powerful. The energy that powers, protects and progresses every day under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the minister commented in a post on X.
By July 1, 2025, approximately 10.33 crore families are benefiting from the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
Another 2.7 million connections were sanctioned for beneficiaries during the 2025-2026 phase, taking the total number to 10.6 crore.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently approved an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore for a targeted subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 9 refills per year to PMUY beneficiaries during the financial year (FY) 2025-26.
The PMUY scheme was launched in May 2016 with the aim of providing deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor families across the country.
All PMUY beneficiaries get deposit-free LPG connection which includes security deposit of cylinder, pressure regulator, safety hose, domestic gas consumer card booklet and installation charges.
The scheme aims to protect PMUY beneficiaries from the impact of sharp fluctuations in international prices of LPG as 60 per cent of India’s LPG requirement is met through imports.
As per the existing modalities of Ujjwala 2.0, the first refill and stove is also provided free of cost to all the beneficiaries.
PMUY beneficiaries are not required to make any payment for LPG connection or first refill or stove as the cost of these is borne by the Central Government through the public sector oil marketing companies.
Under the targeted subsidy to Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana consumers to make LPG more affordable for them and thereby ensure continued use of LPG by these households, the Central Government launched a targeted subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder to PMUY consumers in May 2022 for up to 12 refills per year.
In October 2023, the central government increased the targeted subsidy to Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year.
According to an official statement, the average per capita consumption of PMUY consumers, which was only 3 refills in 2019-20 and 3.68 refills in 2022-23, has improved to about 4.47 during FY 2024-25, indicating the success of the scheme.
–IANS
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