Effective 1^st March, 2020, the retail selling price of PDS Kerosene is being maintained at NIL under-recovery level on pan India basis.

Government makes allocation of Public Distribution System (PDS) Kerosene for cooking and lighting purpose. Besides this, Government in 2012, has also empowered States/ UTs to draw an allocation of one month’s quota of PDS Kerosene at Non-Subsidized rates during each financial year for special needs such as natural calamities, religious functions, fisheries, various yatras etc. The allocation of SKO under PDS has been rationalized considering the polluting nature of Kerosene. Further, Government provided cash incentives to States under Direct benefit Transfer for Kerosene scheme (DBTK) for voluntary surrender of PDS Kerosene allocations from 2015-16 to 2019-20. Since then, 13 states have become Kerosene free till FY 2023-24.

Government is leading as well as working with various international initiatives to lead a clean energy transition. India was one of the founding members of the International Solar Alliance in November 2015 and the Global Biofuel Alliance during its G20 presidency in September 2023. During India Energy Week 2025, India hosted a Ministerial Roundtable on Clean Cooking to discuss ways to address challenges faced by the Global South and share lessons from India’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).

Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to promote clean energy which, inter alia, include demand substitution by promoting usage of natural gas as fuel/feedstock across the country towards increasing the share of natural gas in economy and moving towards gas based economy, promotion of renewable and alternate fuels like ethanol, second generation ethanol, compressed bio gas and biodiesel, refinery process improvements, promoting energy efficiency and conservation, efforts for increasing production of oil and natural gas through various policies initiatives, etc. For promoting the use of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as automotive fuel, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative has also been launched.

As a cleaner alternative to Kerosene for lighting purposes, India has achieved near universal saturation in electricity access through Saubhagya (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).

With a view to provide access to clean cooking fuel to poor households across the country, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May, 2016. To make LPG more affordable to PMUY consumers and ensure sustained usage of LPG by them, Government started a targeted subsidy of Rs.200/- per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 Kg connections) to the PMUY consumers in May 2022. In October 2023, Government increased the targeted subsidy to Rs.300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 Kg connections). After a targeted subsidy of Rs. 300/cylinder to PMUY consumers, Government of India is providing 14.2 Kg LPG cylinders at an effective price of Rs.503 per cylinder (in Delhi). This is available to more than 10.33 crore Ujjwala beneficiaries, across the country.

In order to improve awareness of the benefits of LPG across the country, various steps have been taken inter alia, including organizing campaigns for improving awareness about PMUY, organizing melas/camps to enroll and distribute connections, promotion through Out of Home(OOH) hoardings, radio jingles, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Vans etc., spreading awareness about advantages of using LPG over other conventional fuels and safe usage of LPG through LPG Panchayats, enrolment/awareness camps under Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, facilitation of consumers and their families for Aadhar enrolment and opening of bank accounts for getting PMUY connections, simplification of process of getting LPG connection, online application for PMUY connection at www.pmuy.gov.in, nearest LPG distributors, Common Service Centres (CSC) etc., option of 5 Kg Double Bottle Connection(DBC), swap option from 14.2 Kg to 5 Kg, provision for Migrant Families to avail new connection on Self-Declaration instead of Proof of Address and Ration Card. Further, OMCs are continuously commissioning new LPG Distributorships, especially in rural areas. Since the launch of PMUY scheme, OMCs have commissioned 7959 Distributorships (commissioned during 01.04.2016 to 31.12.2024) across the country, out of which 7373 (i.e. 93 %) are catering to rural areas. As a result of Government’s interventions, LPG access in India has improved from 62 % in April 2016 to near saturation now.

This information was given by THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SHRI SURESH GOPI, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

****

MONIKA

(Release ID: 2111837) Visitor Counter : 606