
The Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (PNG) has indicated that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders for households under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) have been reduced from nine to four.
While not an explicit announcement, the ministry, in an official release last week, said that “Ujjwala households will receive ₹300 a cylinder on the first four refills each year”.
As per the latest information, the subsidy for Ujjwala customers is limited to ₹300 per cylinder for the first four units each year, reflecting average annual consumption of four to five cylinders. “Ujjwala households will receive ₹300 a cylinder on the first four refills each year — ₹1,200 per beneficiary a year,” the release added.
Notably, this comes after the Centre last year cut the number of subsidised LPG cylinder refills for Ujjwala beneficiaries from 12 to 9 last August.
Domestic cooking gas LPG prices were raised by ₹29 per cylinder on 7 June, marking the second increase in three months as state-owned fuel retailers continue to grapple with elevated global energy costs. However, the ministry said that a PMUY beneficiary pays an effective ₹642 for a 14.2 kg cylinder, and the general consumer in Delhi pays ₹942, against a cost of supply that has now risen to over ₹1,600.
The government also stressed that LPG consumers continue to get a large indirect subsidy even after the ₹29 per cylinder price increase, with the subsidy amounting to about ₹700 for non-Ujjwala users and ₹1,000 for Ujjwala beneficiaries.
| Market | Price per 14.2 kg cylinder ( ₹) | Price difference |
|---|---|---|
| India | 642 (Ujjwala, effective after revision) | — |
| Pakistan | 1,046 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 39% less |
| Nepal | 1,207 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 47% less |
| Bangladesh | approx. 1,225 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 48% less |
| Sri Lanka | 1,241 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 48% less |
| United States | approx. 1,755 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 63% less |
| Australia | approx. 1,765 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 64% less |
| Canada | approx. 2,411 | Ujjwala consumer pays about 73% less |
The applicant must be a woman who has attained 18 years of age. According to the FAQs on the official PMUY website, an adult woman from a poor household is eligible for the Ujjwala benefit upon submission of a deprivation declaration (as per standard format).
Further, to be eligible for a PMUY connection, the household must not have an existing LPG connection registered in the name of any family member listed in the family composition document.
A PMUY beneficiary receives a security deposit free LPG connection with no installation charges, covering a 14.2 Kg LPG cylinder/5 Kg LPG cylinder(s), domestic pressure regulator, a 1.2 m Suraksha Hose pipe, a DGCC booklet, free first refill(s) and a free two-burner stove. A PMUY beneficiary does not need to pay any amount to the distributor for any of the above.
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Jocelyn Fernandes is a journalist and editor with nearly 13 years of experience covering the business, corporate, economy and markets beats in news.<br> As chief content producer for around three years at Livemint (Hindustan Times), Jocelyn publishes breaking stories, explainers, features and live blogs on a range of business and economy topics, including the Budget, corporate developments, stock markets, income tax, money and personal finance, cryptocurrency, government policy, impact of US tariffs, international developments and more.<br> Jocelyn's writing philosophy is focused on delivering news in an accurate and accessible format for readers. She thus focuses her news coverage on explainers and FAQs in order to breakdown business, corporate, economic, and policy topics that are of importance to everyday readers.<br> She holds a Bachelors in Mass Media (BMM) and Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Journalism and Communication and has previously written for online business and markets news site Moneycontrol (Network18), Business-to-business (B2B) trade publications — the industry magazines Power Today and Solar Today (ASAPP Media), and the national news agency United News of India (UNI).<br> Outside of work, Jocelyn keeps up-to-date with local and international news, enjoys reading fiction books, novels and short stories, and enjoys movies, travelling and art. <br> She can be found on X and LinkedIn, and reached by email: <a href="jocelyn.fernandes@htdigital.in">jocelyn.fernandes@htdigital.in</a> <br> X/ Twitter handle: <a href="https://x.com/scribeJocelyn">@scribeJocelyn</a> <br> LinkedIn: <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/jocelyn-fernandes-journalist">LinkedIn</a>
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