PM Ujjwala scheme: Rs 300 per LPG cylinder subsidy extended for FY25

The Centre on Thursday announced the extension of a subsidy of Rs 300 per LPG cylinder to poor women under the Prime Minister Ujjwala scheme for the financial year 2024-25. Union Minister Piyush Goyal announced the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to extend the PM Ujjwala subsidy into the financial year starting April 1.

The subsidy, of Rs 300 per cylinder, was scheduled to end at the end of the current financial year, which ends on March 31.

The move, set to benefit nearly 10 crore families, will cost the exchequer Rs 12,000 crore.

The Centre launched the PM Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in May 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households.

Initially, while the LPG connection was provided to eligible households free of cost, the beneficiaries had to purchase LPG refills at market price.

In May 2022, the government in May 2022 introduced a subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder, for up to 12 refills per year, under the Ujjwala scheme to compensate for a surge in fuel prices. 

In October 2023, it hiked the PM Ujjwala subsidy by Rs 100 to Rs 300 per cylinder. 

The PM Ujjwala subsidy is aimed at ensuring the availability of affordable cooking gas in rural and deprived poor households in the country. 

Subsidy under the PM Ujjwala scheme is paid directly into the bank accounts of connection holders.

With inputs from agencies