Government Scheme · Active

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

Provides free LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line and specified category households to replace cooking with firewood, dung, and coal.

Launched2016

MinistryMinistry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

What it does

The scheme provides a free LPG connection (including a cylinder, regulator, and stove) to eligible women. The first cylinder refill is also subsidised or free. Subsequent refills are at market price (with a LPG subsidy routed to the account). Phase 2 (Ujjwala 2.0, 2021) extended coverage to migrants without required documents and added the first refill and stove free of cost.

Who it covers

Phase 1: Women from BPL households as per SECC 2011. Phase 2 expanded to women from SC/ST, PM Awas, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes, tea garden workers, and river island residents.

Funding

Centre provides Rs 1,600 per connection as a non-repayable grant. Additional costs for stove and regulator may be covered through a loan repaid via future LPG subsidy adjustments. Total outlay through 2023 exceeded Rs 15,000 crore.

Scale

Over 96 million connections released by 2024. India moved from approximately 56% LPG coverage in 2014 to over 99% household coverage by 2021 (though the denominator methodology is disputed).

Criticism and debate

Initial refill rates were low — many beneficiaries could not afford to refill cylinders at market price after the free one was used. The scheme is often cited as evidence of LPG subsidy reform success, but studies found many beneficiaries returned to biomass cooking. The government reduced LPG subsidies in 2021, making refills unaffordable for poor households. Ujjwala 2.0 added a free refill to address this, but the structural affordability problem persists.

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Content is editorial draft pending verification against official scheme guidelines, ministry press releases, and independent evaluations. Last reviewed: 2026-07-02.