What is Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?

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What is Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?

Launched on the 1st of May, 2016 by PM Modi, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana aims to create a rural India which is smoke-free. LPG cylinders are predominantly spread only in urban and semi-urban areas covering the middle class and elite households. Unfortunately, the lower class families are not able to gain access to such measures. Hence, this scheme was initiated as a measure to provide LPG connections to households falling under the BPL category to ensure that the cooking gas is distributed evenly in the country. 

This article will explain to the readers what the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is, its objectives, benefits and application process.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) Defined

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY, translation: Prime Minister's Lightening Scheme) is a social welfare scheme launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, to provide stable LPG connections for the women belonging to households falling Below the Poverty Line (BPL).

Objectives of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was implemented by the Modi government with the following objectives:

• PMUY was launched with a vision of reducing or rather eliminating cooking which involves using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. in rural places.
• Nearly 5 lakh Indians die due to inhaling the emission from dirty cooking fuels as per a statistical report of World Health Organization (WHO). These deaths are caused due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke and lung cancer.
• A large number of acute respiratory illnesses is also caused due to the indoor air pollution, especially amongst young children. To nullify this, PMUY was launched.
• PMUY also offers employment opportunities in the supply chain of cooking gas for the rural youth in India.

Categories under the Scheme

As per the central government, the following categories will be endorsed under PMUY so that its benefits can be availed by them:

• People residing on Islands
• People living on River Islands
• Most Backward Classes
• Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes
• Forest dwellers
• All SC/ST household beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)
• Antyodaya Anna Yojana

Benefits of PMUY

The following are the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwal Yojana (PMUY):

• Under PM Modi’s PMUY, nearly five crore LPG connections are being provided to households which fall under BPL category.
• Under this scheme, a financial assistance of Rs 1600 is provided to BPL households for each LPG connection.
• The cost of a cylinder, booklet, pressure regulator, safety hose, etc. under PMUY will be borne by the government.
• Under this scheme, interest free loans will be provided to those who want to purchase a stove and refill it by oil marketing companies

Documents needed for applying under PMUY

The applicant must provide the following documents:

• Know Your Customer (KYC) according to the standard format
• POI (Proof of Identity) 
• POA (Proof of Address)
• Aadhaar copy of Applicant,
• All adult family members’ Aadhaar copy as mentioned in the Ration Card or any similar document.
• The applicant’s bank account details
• Ration card or any other family document issued by the state government or district administration detailing household composition of the identified household.
• Rajasthan’s Bhamashah Card, MP’s Samagra ID, Uttar Pradesh’s Parivar Register, Haryana’s Parivar Pehchan Patra, Andhra Pradesh’s Rice Card or any other state-specific card as per your state.
• In case of Migrant Applicants, self-declaration according to Annexure-I instead of Ration card for ascertaining family composition.
• Supporting Document, in case of connection is applied under any of the seven categories (i.e., Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, Most Backward Classes (MBC), beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Gramin), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), SC/ST households, Forest dwellers, People residing in river Islands).
• 14-point declaration in support of poor households which must be duly signed by the applicant as per the standard format prescribed.

Application Procedure

The application for availing the benefits of PMUY can be applied by a woman belonging to a BPL household which doesn’t have access to LPG connection through the official website of PMUY.

• As a first step, visit the official website of the PM Ujjwala Yojana https://www.pmuy.gov.in/.
• Once the homepage appears on your screen, click on ‘apply for New Ujjwala 2.0 connection’.
• Now enter your Aadhaar card number and the mobile number which is linked to your Aadhaar card.  
• Click the option “Send OTP” visible below.
• Thereafter, a One-time Password will be sent on your mobile number. Submit the OTP on the website.
• Afterwards, you will be required to fill in your details such as name, address, etc.
• Click the Submit button and complete the application process. Make sure you fill your details correctly before submitting the application.
• The LPG Field officials will cross-check the application against SECC – 2011 database and, after ascertaining their BPL status and then approve it.
• Now, the Government electronically undertakes the deduplication exercise and any other measures for due diligence for a new LPG connection.
• Once all the application stages are completed, the Government will issue LPG connection to all the eligible beneficiaries.

Facts about PMUY which you might want to know

• The LPG connection charges are borne by the government under PMUY. The new consumers, if they desire, can opt for EMIs for covering the cooking stove and initial refill’s cost.
• The EMI amount will be recovered from the beneficiary by the government though the subsidy paid by him on each refill. If a person wants to contribute to cost of a stove or first refill, they can do so in coordination with the norms of the government.
• However, this is only permitted under PMUY’s roof and no other scheme name or tagline would be permitted without receiving prior approval from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG).
• In the presence of public representatives, various melas are organized by the Government to release the connections to BPL households.
• Poverty stricken families are covered by the scheme under all forms of distributorship and various cylinder sizes are provided such as, 14.2 kg, 5 kg, etc., depending on the field situation.
• Hilly States of North East India are treated as ‘Priority States’ under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
• PMUY addresses the difficulties faced by poor people living in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura in accessing clean-fuel of LPG for cooking purposes.

Conclusion

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched with a vision of reducing or rather eliminating cooking which involves using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. in rural places. Millions of Indian citizens have benefited from this scheme so far.

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