Mr. Pradhan conveyed his deep  gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Finance Minister for this  decision. He said that this is a wonderful Budget gift from Prime Minister to  the women, particularly in rural areas. This is the first time in the history  of the country that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas would implement a  welfare scheme benefitting crores of rural women. 

Christened as Ujjwala, the scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for  each LPG connection to the BPL households. The identification of eligible BPL  families, as proposed in the Budget for 2016-17, will be made in consultation with  the State Governments and the Union Territories. While providing the new  connections to BPL households, priorities would be given to the uncovered  States and pockets, particularly in the Eastern region of the country. This  will be done in consonance with the vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister for  development of Eastern India. 

Note to the Editor:

The  Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has already got many feathers in its cap  in providing LPG services. With 15.2 crore customers enrolled in Pahal, it is the  world’s largest cash transfer programme. The unique Giveitup programme has  already more than 75 lakh households to its credit, who have voluntarily given  up subsidy. The Year 2015 was the year in which new LPG connections were given  to 50 lakh rural households, the highest ever in India’s history.