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 rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).
Objectives of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Ujjwala Yojana is aimed at providing 5 Crore 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 objectives of the scheme are
- Empowering women and protecting their health.
- Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.
- Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.
- Preventing young children from a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning fossil fuel.
How to Apply for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
The eligible women candidates from BPL families can apply for the scheme by filling up the Ujjwala Yojana KYC application form (in the prescribed format).
The interested candidates required 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.
KYC Application forms for Ujjwala Yojana can also be downloaded online and submitted to nearest LPG outlet along with required documents.
Eligibility for PM Ujjwala Yojana
The identification of eligible BPL families will be made on the basis of SECC-2011 data. However below is the basic eligibility criteria for the scheme.
- The applicant’s name should be in the list of SECC-2011 data.
- The applicant should be a woman 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.
- The applicant’s household should not already own an LPG connection in anyone’s name.
The detailed eligibility criteria of the Ujjwala Yojana is available here.
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 Authorized by Panchayat Pradhan / Municipality Chairman
- BPL Ration Card
- One Photo ID (Aadhar Card or Voter ID Card)
- One Recent Passport Size Photograph
Ujjwala Yojana Extended to More Beneficiaries
The Cabinet on Monday extended the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana that provides free LPG gas connections to “all poor households” by adding 1 crore more households.
In a statement, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) said that it had “cleared the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to release deposit free LPG connections to poor families, who have not been considered earlier for release of LPG connections under Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana (PMUY) on account of their names not been covered either in Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) list or the seven identified categories i.e. SC/STs households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(PMAY) (Gramin), Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, people residing in Islands / river islands, whose names did not appear in the SECC list.”
The Ujjwala Yojana was launched on 1 May 2016 to provide free LPG connections with cash assistance by the Government of India and also, interest-free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies. So far, more than 5.86 crore LPG connections have been released under PMUY as per the official data as against the target of 8 crores. Out of the 5.6 crores, 48 percent of the beneficiaries belong to SC/STs groups.
