What is PMUY?

In our country, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as cooking gas was previously considered as upper
and middle class luxury. The use of LPG as cooking fuel in India started in the year 1955. Over a
period of time, the reach of LPG as cooking fuel in the households has steadily spread across the
country. Efforts of the Government especially post year 2000 has resulted in making LPG available to
almost all the urban households in the country. However, reach of LPG remained out of the bounds
for the poor rural households.

Women of rural poor households have been the victims of use of conventional source of cooking fuels
such as cow dung, firewood, coal etc. due to smoke emanating from their use which adversely affects
the health. According to experts, burning fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour. As
per World Health Organization, nearly 15 lakh women die every year due to indoor air pollution
related to health hazards in the world. Out of which, in India only nearly 5 lakh women die every year.

The government in the year 2016, first of its kind took the initiative to provide LPG -a clean cooking
fuel to BPL households especially in rural areas since the LPG coverage in this segment remained at
meager 30%. With the Government decisive intervention by devising scheme to provide LPG
connections to women of poor households though Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY).

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi on May 1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, with the aim of providing clean cooking fuel to BPL
women and reducing the drudgery and hazards of biomass cooking. Respect for women is a core
value of PMUY. As clean fuel for cooking is adopted, women and children become healthier as the
quality of indoor air improves, women are financially included (bank accounts) and women and
young girls are able to put the time they save in collecting fuel wood and cooking on traditional
chulha in more productive and more valued pursuits thus leading to their overall development. Key
modalities of scheme implemented are:
1. LPG connection is issued to a women beneficiary of the BPL household listed in SECC data 2011
2. Cash assistance of Rs 1600/- per connection will be provided by the Government for each New
connection and shall comprise of following :

a) Security deposit of 14.2 kg / 5 kg cylinder

b) Security deposit of pressure regulator
c) Suraksha Hose (1.2 M)
d) Installation /demonstration charges payable to distributor
e) Cost of issue of DGCC booklet

3. While the connection charges of Rs 1600/- will be reimbursed by the Government of India,
OMCs would provide the option of loan to interested beneficiaries towards the cost of stove
and first refill. OMCS will recover the loan from the subsidy amount payable for each refill as
consumed by the consumer.

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Under this scheme, a stiff target of enrolling 5 Crore customers was entrusted by Ministry to be
completed by the year 2019. We have completed the enrolment of over 3.56 crore customers
within 23 months of the launch of PMUY. Encouraged by the success the PMUY target enrolment
has been increased to 8 crore to be achieved by 2020 as per the budget announcement on 1st of
February 2018.

As per the revised modalities of PMUY ref.no.P-17018/1/2016-LPG(Vol.2) dt.12.03.18 has approved

to increase PMUY coverage from existing 5 Cr to 8 Cr BPL households upto the FY 2019-2020. In the
revised scheme the selection of woman beneficiary would be from the BPL families identified from
the SECC list or BPL family covered under either one of the categories:
1. SC/ST households
2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin)
3. Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
4. Forest dwellers
5. Most Backward Classes (MBC)
6. Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes
7. People residing in Island & river Islands
Note: The above category of beneficiaries will be identified in consultation with the respective line
ministries and State Govt./UTs. And will be considered after excluding those covered by the 14
parameters of exclusion in SECC list.This expanded scheme is implemented w.e.f.01.04.18

Key Highlights of PMUY Implementation


 5.6 Cr PMUY released since inception till 01.10.18
 LPG coverage as on 01.04.16 was 61.89% & as on 01.10.18 it has risen to
82 %
 More than 70 % PMUY beneficiary have also benefitted with loan facility for gas stove
and first refill under the scheme.
 More than 48% beneficiary under PMUY belong to SC/ST BPL families
 OMCs have announced deferment of loan recovery upto 6 refill consumption for a
year w.e.f.01.04.18 from PMUY beneficiaries who have availed/opted for loan from
OMCs towards hotplate and installation refill.This will facilitate them in refill uptake as
they will be receiving subsidy in the banks.

What is LPG Panchayat?

Since PMUY focuses largely on BPL households, it is imperative that we concentrate on the safety
and security of these first-time LPG users. Accordingly the concept of LPG Panchayat was introduced
to bring together around 100 LPG customers in their immediate vicinity on an interactive platform
to discuss the safe and sustainable usage of LPG, its benefits and the linkage between use of clean
fuel for cooking and women empowerment. It is proposed to conduct one lakh LPG Panchayats
across India before 31st March 2019.

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Background to LPG Panchayat
LPG Panchayat was formally launched on 23 Sep 2017 at Village Mota Isanpur, District Gandhinagar
in state of Gujarat by Honorable Minister Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan. It is proposed to hold one lakh
LPG Panchayts pan India by March’19. Further, there is no other formal inauguration in other states
and OMCs have started conducting LPG Panchayats in some states through their DNOs/FO and
distributors.

LPG Panchayat organised at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the august presence of Hon’ble President of
India

An historic LPG Panchayat was also organised at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the august presence of Mr.
Ram Nath Kovind, Hon’ble President of India. Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for PN&G, SD&E
along with women Member of Parliament from various constituencies, eminent personalities from
all works of life, senior officials from MoP&NG and Oil Marketing Companies were also present
during the occasion. 104 women of BPL families from 27 States, who benefited from the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, joined the occasion to share their life changing experiences.

Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble President expressed his happiness on the progress of the Pradhan
Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and acknowledge that Ujjawala Yojana is strengthening women’s
empowerment. He was confident that the taking place of LPG Panchayats as part of the Ujjwala
Yojana process will prove very useful.He added that this scheme has helped the women to come
out of this menace and help them lead a healthier and happier life. He further said that a cleaner
and healthier kitchen, socio-economic inclusion of women, and more availability of time are some
of the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

During the event, 5 PMUY beneficiaries shared their personal experiences of the deep impact made
in their lives after shifting to LPG in their household. Sharing one such experience, Ms. Narayani Bai
Sahoo, a beneficiary of PMUY from Chhatisgarh, said that “...Though we cannot buy time but by
buying LPG connection under Ujjawala scheme we have been able to save time...” She further said
that she is utilising this time for tailoring and earning enough to finance her LPG refills and
supporting her children’s education.

Benefits of LPG Panchayat

Ujjwala has slowly and steadily been changing the lives of millions of women across the nation. This
change looks different in the life of every woman. For some this means not having to walk in the
scorching heat to collect firewood, for others it may mean spending more time with their children.
A young girl may not have to miss school anymore while her mother is already able to take up more
tailoring jobs, thanks to the extra time she has because of cooking on LPG. While one becomes more
regular in attending her Self Help Group (SHG) meetings, another might already be thinking of
starting her own small business. Each of these experiences is unique and needs to be acknowledged
and valued as such. LPG Panchayat will serve as a platform to do this.
Such meetings of Ujjwala beneficiaries are essential to establish a deeper connect with them. These
meetings will serve as platforms to interface with the beneficiaries, harness their experiences and

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integrate them to create a knowledge base for triggering a sustainable and viable movement around
Ujjwala. These meetings will reaffirm the need for safe and regular LPG usage.
LPG Panchayats will also be used as a forum to re-inform the new LPG users about some of the
ongoing schemes such as MUDRA, STAND UP India, Sukanya Samridhi Yojna, National Rural
Livelihood Mission (NRLM), encouraging them to access the benefits of these programmes.

Key Themes to be addressed:

1. Health
According to WHO estimates, indoor air pollution is the biggest killer in India after high blood
pressure, accounting for about 5 lakh premature deaths every year. Using traditional stoves in
rooms with little or no ventilation can have serious consequences for those exposed, especially
women who are cooking and young children who spend time around their mothers. Cooking on an
open fire in the kitchen has been compared to burning 400 cigarettes in an hour.

Thus 3 crore households completely switching to LPG will have a massive impact on the health and
well being of women.

2. Economic Cost
The burden of gathering, processing and transporting of fuel wood generally falls on women and
girl children, contributing to their drudgery. Since cooking continues to be primarily women’s
responsibility, women have to compromise their time spent on housework, paid work, and leisure
in order to meet the energy needs of the household. In case of young girls, this translates into poor
attendance and even dropping out of school.

With LPG usage, there is substantial reduction in the time spent on cooking and allied activities,
which when put to some productive and economic use, can lead to women achieving a better
economic status both within the household and the larger community.

3. Safety
Right from the inception of the Ujjwala program, emphasis has been laid on safe use of LPG. The
envisioned benefits of LPG can only be realized if there is safe and responsible usage. At the time of
issue of connection, each customer is given a safety card outlining the Dos and Don’ts of using LPG.
A trained mechanic does the installation of LPG cylinder and also gives the customer a demo of how
to use LPG safely. Furthermore, all LPG distributors are mandated to conduct ‘safety clinics’ in their
respective areas of operation, especially for new LPG customers. Consumers are also given a
helpline number where they can call in case of a leakage or any other LPG related emergency.

4. Environment
The soot and smoke produced by biomass cooking is damaging to the home environment. Biomass
use also contributes to deforestation and overall degradation of the local environment. However,
while making a choice between biomass and LPG, people often consider the former cheap (if not

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free), a perception that acts as a deterrent in switching to LPG. The effort and time spent collecting
biomass has been increasing due to the shortages caused by localized deforestation.

Again, like health, the adverse environmental impact of biomass cooking is deferred and hence hard
to understand. It is important therefore to raise this issue in context of switching to a clean fuel such
as LPG usage.

5. Empowerment
Ujjwala was launched a year and a half back with the aim of providing women what is their right:
right to clean energy, right to a life free from drudgery, free from smoke and ill health. Since then
Ujjwala has slowly and steadily been changing the lives of millions of women across the nation. This
change looks different in the life of every woman.

Switching to LPG gives women the opportunity to choose how to best use their time, a chance
 that
may allow them to better take advantage of development opportunities and empower themselves.
Access to and adoption of LPG can facilitate a shift in gender roles and responsibilities within the
household provided that women access opportunities to enhance their income. Again women who
are using LPG regularly would have experienced most of the expected benefits. There is a need,
therefore, to discuss and explore the possibilities that have opened up for these new LPG users and
also the ways they can access these opportunities.

1. Preparation before LPG Panchayath by the distributor : -

a. Distributor will keep the list of 100 woman beneficiaries ready to whom the connections
will be distributed that day.

b. Identify and invite a local woman leader – This can be a teacher, an Aanganwadi worker,
a Self Help Group(SHG) member, a nurse/doctor/health worker, a police person, a
business woman, a social/political activist, an advocate , an artist or a woman who has
pursued and excelled in an arena outside homemaking. Invite her to share her life story
about how she managed her cooking responsibilities and how when she freed herself
from them (eased the burden) was she able to play other roles in her life.

c. Identify 5 Ujjwala customers who have taken 6 or more refills. Brief these customers in
advance and encourage them to share their experience of moving from biomass chulha
to LPG.

d. Invite participation from young girls as it has been observed that presence of young girls
and women in the household can accelerate households’ switching to LPG.

e. Target population/ participants are to be informed about the time, venue and intent of
the Ujjwala Divas/LPG Panchayat at least 3 days in advance.

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 f. Local ASHA workers- who are in regular touch with the community
particularly women/Aanganwadi workers/ Mid Day Meal Coordinators/ Bhojan Matas/
Similar women SHGs at village level, National Rural Livelihood Mission(NRLM)
Community Mobilizers – who work with women on savings/SHGs, Women Panchayat
representatives and other local community leaders- influential women of the area,
should also be invited.

g. PMUY Safety Card and Insurance card printed and laminated copies in vernacular
language to be kept ready with the distributor for distribution to the participants. Sample
copy attached in English and Hindi.
h. Distributor to keep ready one trained mechanic or personnel for safety demonstration
along with ideal LPG domestic installation set up arranged for display during the event.
i. Distributor to ensure display of Ujjwala Diwas Banner, standee, audio system, seating
arrangement, refreshments etc is ready for the event beforehand.
j. Distributors to have the Collect App installed on their Android to upload the report of
the Ujjwala Divas - User Manual on LPG Panchayat App to be circulated and DNO/FO to
educate them on the same.
2. Conducting LPG Panchayath: Total time – 90 to 120 minutes

S.no. Activity Estimated

Time in minutes

1. Welcome and Introduction on Ujjwala 5

2. Ujjwala song play-Audio (Hindi) 5

3. Play LPG Panchayat Audio/Vernacular language 5

4. A local woman leader share her experience of shifting from 5

solid fuel/biomass fuel to LPG and doing well in their chosen
field outside their homes.
5. 5 PMUY woman beneficiaries who have used 6 or more 15
cylinders share their experience on the benefits of using clean
cooking fuel LPG.

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 6. Safe LPG usage and its demonstration with the help of ideal 15
LPG Installations, which the audience can see (can arrange
one or more set-ups for display)
 The 5 Key themes to be addressed in LPG Panchayat to
sensitize Ujjwala beneficiaries on Usage of clean cooking
fuel LPG benefits :

1. Safety
o Safe usage
o How to book and receive LPG cylinder
o LPG conservation tips
o In case of LPG leakage, emergency
handling
2. Health
3. Economic Cost
4. Environment
5. Empowerment
7. If any Public representative, MoP&NG or OMC official is 10
present for the event, he/she can also share his/her thoughts
on the day how the LPG is bringing empowerment and change
in the lives of women-“LPG as Social Catalyst”
8. 05-10 PMUY beneficiaries can be called up and connections 10
can be distributed by the dignitary (If any Public
representative, MoP&NG or OMC official is present for the
event) or the distributor. As around 100 PMUY connections
are to be released, the balance PMUY connections can be
released sideways from a kiosk at the venue.
9. Distributor, FO or DNO whoever is attending the event will 10
answer any queries around Ujjwala and record any specific
grievances – see Exhibit A/Complaint Register
10. Serve refreshments 15

Exhibit A

Format for Collecting Grievances During LPG Panchayat

Date OMC

GP Distributor

Block State

District

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S. no Name of the Consumer Number Consumer's Issue Mobile of
Applicant Name the
Consumer

Note Fill in these details during the LPG Panchayat with pen in clear handwriting.

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