PM Modi to launch Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 on August 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 at Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh on August 10, 2021, through video conferencing.

As per an official release by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme will help achieve PM’s vision of universal access to LPG. The PM will interact with the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme.

Significance of Ujjwala 2.0

•A provision for an additional 1 crore LPG connections was announced under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme in the Union Budget for the FY 2021-22.

•These 1 crore LPG connections under the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme will help in providing deposit-free LPG connections to the low-income families who could not be covered under the Ujjwala 1.0 scheme.

What will Ujjwala 2.0 offer?

The Ujjwala 2.0 scheme will offer:

•Deposit-free LPG connection,

•First refill and hot plate free-of-cost to beneficiaries,

•The enrolment procedure will not require ration cards or address proofs. Beneficiaries can submit a self-declaration for ‘family declaration’ and ‘address proof’.

About Ujjwala 1.0

•The Ujjwala 1.0 scheme was launched in May 2016 by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) as a flagship scheme to provide clean cooking fuel such as LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) to the rural and below poverty, households to avoid them from using firewood, cow-dung, coal, etc for cooking purposes.

•PM Narendra Modi had launched the Ujjwala 1.0 scheme on May 1, 2016, in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.

The scheme had a target to provide LPG connections to five crore women of Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.

•In April 2018, the target was revised to offer the connections to 8 crores women belonging to SC/ST, PMAY, Most Backward Classes, AAY, Forest Dwellers, Tea Garden, and Islands).

•The revised target of 8 crores LPG connections aided in increasing the LPG coverage from 62 per cent in 2016 to 99.8 per cent in 2021.