Why the NDA’s Ujjwala scheme is not a failure
Critics of the plan have failed to understand that it is not a refillcentric but an accesscentric scheme
There has been much anxiety in recent times about refilling, or the lack of it, of LPG cylinders among poor households under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). This understanding is driven by the conflation of the idea of access (getting a new LPG connection) with expectations of usage (LPG replacing wood/ dung as the main cooking fuel). The underlying assumption is that access would automatically translate to regular usage, typically about six to eight refills a year.
Three of the biggest barriers to LPG access globally are high upfront costs, lack of an expansive distributorship network and, therefore, a lack of steady supply of cylinders. PMUY is fundamentally an access initiative. It would not have touched the figure of 3.4 crore within 18 months without the loan offer and village-level enrolment camps, which made getting a new connection affordable and convenient.
However, access is only the first step towards regular usage of LPG — it is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to bolster usage. Behaviour change involves the onetime, unfamiliar dot behaviour (new LPG purchase), short-term unfamiliar span (new behaviour during first few weeks/ months of LPG usage) and long-term familiar path behaviour (effortful span behaviour turning into the spontaneous habit over time). Each of this requires different types of intervention — the Ujjwala scheme is primarily tackling the first type of behaviour.
Studies across Asia, Africa and America have shown that in rural, poor communities with access to free fuel , the transition to commercial fuels is neither fast nor easy. The cook needs to change the style of cooking and the household head needs to readjust family budget priorities to pay for an LPG cylinder.
For ‘process utility’, or advantages during actual usage of the product, LPG has many advantages (it is faster and convenient compared to traditional fuels-based cooking). Again, in terms of the process experience (‘feel good’ stress reliever), LPG is a clear winner over its traditional counterparts.
While awareness campaigns do strengthen behavioural intent to use LPG, people factor in perceived incentives (clean kitchen), disincentives (travel to get refills) and short-term impact (out-of-pocket expenses) more than the long-term health consequences. Focusing on a refill-centric analysis to declare the access-centric Ujjwala scheme a failure only two years into its birth is unfair to the initiative of delivering clean fuel to the poor in the country. Sadly, not all of us plan how to go about a particular day so that it becomes productive and fruitful. But those who do plan each day of their life would say they could succeed because planning their day every morning was their top priority.
American tycoon Paul Orfalea says, “Every morning I start by asking what I want to do with this particular day. That is freedom.” Freedom to do the way you want to do, freedom to do the best way for maximum