Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri highlighted the financial savings that beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) enjoy in their cooking expenditure. The minister took to social media on Tuesday and posted on X (Twitter), Puri noted that families with Ujjwala connections spend only around five rupees per day on cooking expenses, whereas non-Ujjwala households spend roughly Rs 12 per day.
Puri said Ujjwala beneficiaries get liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders at Rs 500 and save substantially on their cooking expenses as compared to cooking on some other medium. "We were calculating the cost of cooking medium that is through the cylinder for one family in a day. If you are a beneficiary of a Ujjwala connection, and you're getting the cylinder at Rs 500, around 7 cents, then one family's cooking expenditure per day is a little over Rs five. And if you are a non-Ujjwala beneficiary, if you are a normal cylinder (user), it is, I think, about Rs 12 -- a little about 14 cents or so, depending on the dollar exchange rate," explained Puri.
He also highlighted that the scheme has profoundly impacted rural areas, where access to clean cooking fuel was previously limited. The minister highlighted that the number of LPG connections in India surged from 14 crore in 2014 to over 33 crore in 2024, largely because of the success of the Ujjwala Yojana.
The Ujjwala scheme was introduced by the government and aims to provide LPG connections to underprivileged households, reducing their dependence on traditional fuels like firewood and coal. Taking a swipe at the opposition, Puri criticised them for politicising the issue of LPG prices.
He remarked, "When the opposition makes a political stint on cylinder prices in their times, I say there were no cylinders in your time." He further pointed out that there was no Ujjwala Yojana when the opposition was in power, highlighting the present government's achievements in providing access to clean cooking fuel.
The minister also highlighted that 80 per cent of Ujjwala beneficiaries come from rural areas, where the use of traditional fuels like firewood and coal was much higher before the introduction of the scheme." By the way, 80 per cent of Ujjwala connections have gone to the rural areas where the propensity to use firewood and coal is much higher than that," added Puri. (ANI)
