Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): Swachh Indhan Behtar Jeevan! How To Apply For LPG Connection

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is among many initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in his two consecutive reigns. "Swachh Indhan Behtar Jeevan" that is the slogan of PMUY, and it has gained a massive response from Indian citizens. Right after the success of PMUY, the government also launched PMUY 2.0 ).

PMUY came into effect in May 2016, as a flagship scheme to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. The usage of traditional cooking fuels had detrimental impacts on the health of rural women as well as on the environment.

Since then, the total connections released under PMUY is to the tune of 102,896,691 as of March 7, 2024. While under PMUY 2.0, the connections released are 23,040,032. Further, number of LPG connection applications received is about 23,95,415 as of March 7, 2024. Notably, about 33,70,323 Aadhar authentication has been made for LPG connections under the scheme.

The government has achieved its target of LPG connections under the scheme.

The target under the scheme was to release 8 Crore LPG Connections to the deprived households by March 2020. Further, the government announced an additional allocation of 1.6 Crore LPG Connections under the PMUY scheme with special facility for migrant households. The target number of connections under Ujjwala 2.0 was achieved during Dec'22, thus taking overall connections under the scheme to 9.6 Crore.

Later on, the government approved the release of an additional 75 lakh connections under the PMUY Scheme, taking the overall target under the scheme to 10.35 Crore, against which connections are getting released now.

Eligibility Criteria:

As per the government website, an adult woman belonging to a poor household and not having an LPG connection in her household will be eligible under UJJWALA 2.0.

The beneficiaries should belong to any of the following categories:

- Eligible as per SECC 2011 list

- Belongs to SC/ST households, be a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in river islands (Beneficiary will submit supporting document)

- If she does not fall in the above 2 categories, then she can stake her claim to be a beneficiary under Poor Household by submitting a 14-point declaration (as per the prescribed format).

Documents Needed For Applying:

The applicant must provide the following documents:

- KYC as per the standard format carrying a photograph of the applicant and duly signed.

- POI (Proof of Identity)

- POA (Proof of Address)

- Aadhaar copy of Applicant,

- Aadhaar copy of all adult family members as mentioned in the Ration Card or similar document.

- Bank account details of the applicant

- Ration card or any other family document issued by State Govt. /District administration detailing household composition (such as Bhamashah Card in Rajasthan and Samagra ID in MP, Parivar Register of Uttar Pradesh, Parivar Pehchan Patra in Haryana, Rice Card of Andhra Pradesh or any other state-specific card getting added later) of the identified household in which her name appears. In states, where the State Government portal has updated family details, a self-signed copy of the printout from this portal can also be submitted by the beneficiary instead of a ration card.

- Self-declaration as per Annexure-I instead of Ration card for ascertaining family composition in case of Migrant Applicants.

- Supporting Document, in case of connection is applied under any of the seven categories (i.e. SC/ST households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Gramin), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in river Islands).

- 14-point declaration in support of Poor households duly signed by the applicant as per the standard format given.

How To Apply?

Applicants can apply both online and offline.

- Online - The customer can enrol through an online application, or she can also contact her nearest CSC Centre to submit the online application.

- Offline - Customers can enrol by directly applying for the distributorship.

Further updates in PMUY 2.0 or new developments related to LPG connections will be keenly watched in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. On the occasion of Women's Day on March 8, PM Modi announced that the government has decided to reduce LPG cylinder prices by Rs. 100. This will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, especially benefiting our Nari Shakti, he further added.