11.3-million LPG users give up subsidy

NEW DELHI: Out of 165 million LPG users, 11.3 million people have given up their cooking gas subsidy as part of the government’s ‘Give It Up’ programme, which was rolled out in March last year. The programme has helped the government save 1,100 crore in subsidies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on May 1 launch an ambitious 8,000-crore scheme to provide 50 million free LPG connections to below poverty line families using money saved. “We appealed to affluent Indians to give up their subsidy voluntarily. Now, we have an outreach programme to ensure people earning over 10 lakh per year to give up subsidy,” oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.