NEW DELHI, June 8: Amid prevailing pressure on supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) globally in the backdrop the West Asia war, the Center has reduced the number of subsidized refills available under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from nine to four cylinders a year.
Although there was no confirmation about when the curtailment was formally instituted, it was communicated on Sunday in a press statement on the domestic LPG price hike. In the second increase since the onset of the conflict in West Asia, the prices of domestic LPG cylinders were raised by Rs 29 on Sunday, taking the cumulative increase to ₹89 across the two revisions.
Under the PMUY scheme, the government provides a targeted subsidy of ₹300 per cylinder for up to nine refills in a year. At present, a 14.2-kg domestic cylinder costs ₹942 in Delhi. With the additional ₹300 subsidy under the Central scheme, beneficiaries pay ₹642 per cylinder.
Responding to concerns over the reduction in subsidized refills, Additional Secretary in the Union Petroleum Ministry Praveen Khanooja stated, “Whether I am PMUY or a non-PMUY consumer, I am getting a cylinder, which should have cost ₹1,600 (adhering to international pricing dynamics), at ₹942 – which is also an indirect subsidy,” adding, “Over and above that, PMUY consumers get ₹300 more, therefore, they are getting ₹1,000 (subsidy on every cylinder).”
He further said the average consumption among PMUY beneficiaries is “about four to five cylinders in a year”, broadly matching the revised provision. The government said the effective price of a PMUY cylinder at ₹642 is being offered at a discount of 60% to the current international LPG prices, while a non-PMUY cylinder priced at ₹942 is available at a discount of 45%. The PMUY scheme has provided around 10.55 crore LPG connections as of May 26 this year.
(Rohit Kumar)
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