The North News
New Delhi, August 8
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a targeted subsidy of ₹300 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries in the financial year 2025-26. The scheme will cover up to nine refills a year — with a proportionate benefit for 5 kg cylinders — at a total expenditure of ₹12,000 crore.
Launched in May 2016, PMUY aims to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households. As of 1 July 2025, around 10.33 crore households across India are registered under the scheme. Beneficiaries receive a deposit-free connection that includes the security deposit for the cylinder, pressure regulator, safety hose, domestic gas consumer card, and installation. Under Ujjwala 2.0, the first refill and stove are also provided free of cost.
India imports about 60% of its LPG needs. To cushion low-income households from international price fluctuations and encourage sustained LPG use, the government introduced a targeted subsidy of ₹200 per cylinder in May 2022, later increasing it to ₹300 in October 2023.
The subsidy has helped improve LPG usage among PMUY households. Average per capita consumption rose from three refills in 2019-20 to 3.68 in 2022-23, and to 4.47 in 2024-25.
