Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

Why in news?

A study by Vital Strategies found that switching exclusively to LPG can save over 1,50,000 lives annually by reducing the pollution caused by traditional firewood stoves.

In rural India, many families still use wood, dung and coal for cooking, leading to harmful smoke exposures and significant health risks.

About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY):

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas introduced the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’ or Ujjwala yojana in 2016.
• The objective of the programme was to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households.
• Applicants can apply both online and offline.
• The target was to provide 8 Crore LPG Connections to the deprived households by March 2020.
• New connections with government support of Rs 1,600 per connection can be released only in the name of adult female members of the Poor household.
• All PMUY beneficiaries will be provided withfirst LPG refill and Stove (hotplate) both free of costalong with their deposit free connection by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• The connection released under PMUY will be eligible to receivesubsidies for domestic LPG Cylinders (maximum 12 cylinders in a year) of 14.2 kg cylinders each.

Eligibility under PMUY:

• An adult woman belonging to a poor household and not having LPG connection in her household will be eligible.
• The beneficiaries should belong to any of the following categories:
• Eligible as per Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011.
• Belongs to SC/ST households.
• Beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).
• Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes,
• Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in river Islands (Beneficiary will submit supporting documents).
• If she is not falling in the above 2 categories, then she can get benefits under Poor household categories by submitting a 14-point declaration.

Ujjwala 2.0:

• The Prime Minister launched the second phase of thePradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana orUjjwala cooking gas scheme in August 2021.
• Ujjwala 2.0 now aims to cover 10 million more beneficiaries in the second phase of the scheme. Union Budget 2021-22, has decided to extend Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide additional 1 Crore LPG connections, with special focus on migrant families.
• Under Ujjwala 2.0, migrant workers can get a free cooking gas connection on the basis of a self-declaration without any need for documents like address proof.
• It aims to provide a deposit-free LPG connection to low-income families who could not be covered under the first phase of PMUY.
• The beneficiaries will also get a stove (free of cost).
• Under the scheme, the first gas cylinder is free, but consumers need to pay for the next cylinders.
• Cash assistance of Rs 1,600 for a PMUY connection is provided by the government.

Achievements of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:

• The Programme helped in increasing the LPG coverage from 62% on 1st May 2016 to 99.8% as on 1st April 2021.
• Approx 1 lakh people got employment opportunities through the LPG distribution network.
• As part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, more than 14 crore free LPG cylinder refills were provided to the PMUY beneficiaries during COVID-19.

Significance of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:

• In the past, LPG connection was considered as an urban product, but PMUY ensured that LPG is easily available to the poor people living in the villages as well.
• The Usage of traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc, had negative impacts on the health of rural women as well as on the environment.
• This programme is promoting Women empowerment
• Connections are provided in the name of the adult female of the family.
• Women are now getting extra time which they used to spend on collecting firewood and making cow dung, they could utilize this extra time in learning new skills and creating more economic opportunities for them.
• Negative health impacts due to burning of firewood and cow dung are now eliminated.
• Positive health impact on women and other family members, this also promotes mental and physiological well being.
• Female students used to help their mother in the task of collecting firewood and making cow dung. While doing this family responsibilities they miss the learning opportunities, but now they could utilize the full potential of their learning opportunities.

What is Indoor Air Pollution?

The worsening of interior air quality caused by hazardous chemicals and other pollutants is known as indoor air pollution. It is basically due to the methods of heating and cooking that include burning biomass fuel, such as wood, charcoal, dung, and agricultural residue, in enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation. Serious health hazards are faced by millions of people, particularly women and children

This issue affects around 3 billion people worldwide who live in developing nations.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), indoor air pollution from cooking kills 3.8 million people every year.

According to the Global Burden of Disease report, 1.6 million people died in 2017 due to indoor air pollution.

Indoor air pollution is caused by a variety of factors in both rural and urban areas.

Indoor Air Pollution can be up to ten times more severe than outdoor air pollution.

This is because enclosed rooms encourage the accumulation of possible contaminants more than open ones.

Numerous air pollutants, including NOx, SO2, ozone (O3), CO, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM, radon, and microorganisms, have been identified as being present indoors.

Some of these pollutants (NOx, SO2, O3, and PM) can come from the outside and are present in both indoor and outdoor situations.

These air contaminants may be radioactive, organic, inorganic, or even biological.

In developing nations, indoor air pollution, sometimes known as "household air pollution," is a significant health risk.