To ensure smokeless kitchens across rural India, 14.13 lakh LPG connections have been released to women of BPL families under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The scheme is currently under operation in 487 districts of 17 states.

India is home to more than 24 Crore households out of which about 10 Crore households are still deprived of LPG as cooking fuel and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung – cakes etc. as primary source of cooking.

          The smoke from burning such fuels causes alarming household pollution and adversely affects the health of Women & children causing several respiratory diseases/ disorders.

As per a WHO report, smoke inhaled by women from unclean fuel is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes in an hour. In addition, women and children have to go through the drudgery of collecting firewood.

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is an ambitious social welfare scheme of Narendra Modi Government launched on 1st May 2016 from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.

• Under the PM Ujjwala Yojana, the government aims to provide LPG connections to BPL households in the country. The scheme is aimed at replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in the rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

• The beneficiaries also have an option of availing interest free loan for purchase of stove and cost of first refill. Beneficiaries under this scheme are identified based on SECC data, as per 2011 census.

• LPG connections under PMUY are released only by authorized LPG distributors of government oil marketing companies, under the supervision of ministry of petroleum & natural gas (MoP&NG).

• 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