Ujjwala 2.0 steps on the gas: Over 10 mn LPG connections look within reach

The second leg of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has picked up pace, closing in on the 10-million target for new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections.

According to oil ministry officials, know-your-customer (KYC) approvals for 9.5 million new applications have already been received by public sector oil-marketing companies (OMCS) that are implementing the scheme.

KYC is a process that institutions undertake to verify details of an intended beneficiary before beginning services. “Of these, 2.3 million new deposit-free LPG connections have already been disbursed from August 10 to September 15,” an official told Business Standard.

The highest number of connections have been disbursed in Bihar (605,000) so far. West Bengal (334,000) comes second, followed by Gujarat (281,000),” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched PMUY 2.0 on August 10 by handing over LPG connections at Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh (UP). “The second leg of the Ujjwala programme will give greater prominence to selfcertification. This will help those who move out of their native places, in search for jobs, to get these depositfree LPG connections,” Modi had said via videoconference.

According to the oil ministry official, PMUY beneficiaries are getting connections under relaxed KYC guidelines. Since the focus is on covering migrants, KYC approvals are happening regardless of the address on the Aadhaar card of beneficiaries.

Focusing his speech on poll-bound UP, Modi had said, “People from all over UP, including Bundelkhand, migrated from villages to cities or to other states for work. There they faced the problem of address proof. Now, these workers from other places need not run from pillar to post for address proof. The government has full faith in the honesty of the migrant workers. All one has to do is give a self-declaration of the address for getting a gas connection.”

The Union government gives cash assistance of up to ~1,600 for a new LPG connection under PMUY. The beneficiary bears the cost of a hot plate (LPG stove) and purchase of the first refill. To make this affordable, the beneficiary is offered a loan at zero interest. The loaned amount is recovered by OMCS via subsidy accrued on the purchase of subsequent cylinder refills by beneficiaries.

In her February Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a fresh target to add 10 million more PMUY beneficiaries to the existing 80 million.

This will take the total number of LPG consumers in the country close to 300 million by March 2022. There are around 207.2 million NON-PMUY LPG consumers in the country.

The implementation of the populist PMUY this year also gains relevance ahead of the crucial UP Assembly elections due in early 2022. UP has the largest number of PMUY beneficiaries from among all states, with around 15 million existing recipients. West Bengal and Bihar come next at around 9 million each. Besides UP, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and Uttarakhand are also poll-bound in early 2022.

To aid lower income households during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre offered three free cylinder refills to PMUY recipients under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package. This cost the exchequer ~9,670.41 crore. The amount was transferred to PMUY beneficiaries during April to August 2020 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. This pushed up the overall LPG consumption of the country, while most other fuels reported a decline during 2020-21.