Pradhanmantri Ujjwala Yojana

Objectives

Ujjwala Yojana is aimed at providing free LPG connections in the name of women in BPL (Below Poverty Line) households across the country. The government has set a target of 5 Crore LPG connections to be distributed to the BPL households across the country under the scheme. Some of the main objectives of the scheme are

1. Empowering women and protecting their health.
2. Assisting in cutting short the issue of the air pollution due to use of fossil fuel.
3. Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels.
4. Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuels, which is about 5 lakh every year in India.
5. Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuels.

How to Apply for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

The interested women candidates from BPL families can apply for the scheme by filling up the Ujjwala Yojana application form (in prescribed format). The application form is available free of cost at the LPG distribution centers across the country.

The interested candidates require to fill the 2 page application form and attach required documents along with the form. The basic details such as Name, Contact details, Jan Dhan / Bank account number, Aadhar card number etc are required to fill in the application form. The applicants also need to mention their requirement of cylinder type i.e. 14.2KG or 5KG.

Eligibility for PM Ujjwala Yojana

The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories. However below is the basic eligibility criteria for the scheme.

• The applicant should be a women above the age of 18 years.
• The women applicant should belong to BPL (Below Poverty Line).
• The women applicant should have a saving bank account in any nationalized bank across the country to receive subsidy amount.
• The applicant’s household should not already own a LPG connection in anyone’s name.

List of Required Documents for Ujjwala Yojana Application

Below is the list of mandatory documents to be attached along with the filled application form.

• BPL Certificate Authorised by Panchayat Pradhan / Municipality Chairman
• BPL Ration Card
• One Photo ID (Aadhar Card or Voter ID Card)
• One Recent Passport Size Photograph

Budget and Funding of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

The government has already allocated Rs. 2000 crore for the Ujjwala Yojana implementation for the financial year 2016-17. Government will distribute LPG connections to about 1.5 Crore BPL families within the current financial year.

A total budgetary provision of Rs. 8000 Crore has been made by the government for the implementation of the scheme over three years.

The scheme will be implemented using the money saved in LPG subsidy through the “Give-it-Up” campaign. The Indian government has so far saved nearly Rs. 5,000 crore in LPG subsidy. Since the launch of “Give-it-Up” campaign, 1.13 crore people have given-up subsidies and are buying LPG cylinders at market price.

Financial Assistance

The scheme provides a financial support of Rs. 1600 for each LPG connection to the eligible BPL households. The connections under the scheme will be given in the name of women head of the households.

The government will also provide EMI facility for meeting the cost of stove and refill.

Implementation of PM Ujjwala Yojana

The scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. This is first time in the history that Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is implementing such an enormous welfare scheme which will benefit Crores of women belonging to the poorest households.

This Scheme would be implemented over three years, namely, the FY 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

References:

• http://www.itsbrsmedia.com
• https://thecivilindia.com