- By Mayukh Debnath
- Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:22 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
LPG Prices Slashed: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced the Centre's decision to reduce the prices of LPG cylinders by Rs 100 in the light of Women's Day. The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election, which is expected to take place in April or May.
"Today, on Women's Day, our Government has decided to reduce LPG cylinder prices by Rs. 100. This will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, especially benefiting our Nari Shakti," PM Modi said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Today, on Women's Day, our Government has decided to reduce LPG cylinder prices by Rs. 100. This will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, especially benefiting our Nari Shakti.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2024
By making cooking gas more affordable, we also aim…
"By making cooking gas more affordable, we also aim to support the well-being of families and ensure a healthier environment. This is in line with our commitment to empowering women and ensuring 'Ease of Living' for them," the post added.
This comes a day after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the continuation of the targeted subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder, for up to 12 refills per year, for women below the poverty line under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) during FY 2024-25.
The move is expected to cost the exchequer a total of Rs 12,000 crore during the upcoming financial year. The subsidy will be credited directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries, according to an official statement. As of March 1, 2024, there are more than 10.27 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
To make LPG, a clean cooking fuel, available to rural and deprived poor households, the government launched PMUY in May 2016, to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households. India imports about 60 per cent of its LPG requirement.
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To shield PMUY beneficiaries from the impact of sharp fluctuations in international prices of LPG and to make LPG more affordable to PMUY consumers thereby ensuring sustained usage of LPG by them, the government started a targeted subsidy of Rs 200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg connections) to the PMUY consumers in May 2022.
In October 2023, the government increased the targeted subsidy to Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg connections). As of February 1, 2024, the effective price of domestic LPG for PMUY consumers is Rs 603 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder (Delhi).The average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 29 per cent from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.87 refills (till January 2024) pro-rated for 2023-24. All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy.
(With inputs from IANS)
