By Admin 
The Central Government has made major changes in the rules of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The government has now reduced the number of refills of subsidized LPG cylinders annually from 9 to 4. This means that the families covered under the Ujjwala scheme will be able to get the benefit of additional subsidy only on 4 cylinders in a year.
Why did the government take this decision?
According to the report of news agency PTI, the government official said on Monday that this change has been made keeping in mind the average domestic consumption. Under this scheme, which was started in the year 2016, earlier the beneficiaries used to get 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each at subsidy in a year. However, last year the number of subsidized cylinders was reduced to nine, which has now been further reduced to four.
Praveen Mal Khanuja, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that the revised limit is close to the average annual gas consumption of Ujjwala beneficiaries. He said that the aim of the government is to provide support keeping in mind the needs of the beneficiaries. The government had introduced a targeted subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder for the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme in May, 2022, which was later increased to Rs 300 in October, 2023.
How much subsidy did the government give in 4 years?
This subsidy is sent directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The price of 14.2 kg LPG cylinder in Delhi has recently reached Rs 942 after increasing twice. However, after adding subsidy, Ujjwala beneficiaries are getting one cylinder for around Rs 642. The official said that on an average it costs the government about Rs 1,600 to supply one cylinder, while around Rs 1,000 per cylinder is provided to the beneficiaries through subsidy. He said that from the year 2022, the government has given subsidy of about Rs 52,000 crore.
LPG price is lower than global level: Government
Additional Secretary, Gas Ministry, Praveen Khanuja said that despite the recent increase in the price of LPG cylinder, domestic LPG prices in India are still low compared to the global level. During the West Asia crisis, sharp fluctuations in the prices of crude oil and LPG have been seen in the international market. He said that petroleum companies are incurring a loss of about Rs 700 per cylinder on LPG sales.
Also read: India Bloc Meeting: Talk on 450 seats for 2029 and 5 big resolutions, what happened in the alliance meeting, read inside story