On Saturday, FM Sitharaman made a slew of statements aimed at helping the poor. "We are committed to keeping pricing of essential items under control," she stated. Moreover, despite the difficult international situation, the minister said, "we have assured that there are no shortages or scarcity of essential goods."
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, announced on Saturday that the Centre will provide a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to nearly 9 crores Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries this year. According to the finance minister, the action will generate revenue of roughly Rs 6100 crore every year.
For the second time in a month, cooking gas LPG prices increased by Rs 3.50 earlier this week. The increase pushed LPG cylinder prices beyond the Rs 1,000 mark across the country. In Delhi and Mumbai, a 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,003, Rs 1,029 in Kolkata, and Rs 1,018.5 in Chennai.
On Saturday, FM Sitharaman made a slew of statements intended to help the poor. "We are committed to keeping pricing of essential items under control," she said. Moreover, despite the difficult international situation, the minister said that there are no shortages or scarcities of essential goods. Even some developed countries were not immune to shortages and disruptions.
"Our government is committed to helping the poor. We've taken several measures to help the poor and middle class. As a result, average inflation has stayed lower during our tenure than during past administrations," Sitharaman said in a series of tweets.
Meanwhile, on August 10, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Ujjwala 2.0 via video conference by handing over LPG connections in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. Migrant employees can also receive LPG connections by self-declaration as "proof of address" under the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme. Ration cards and proof of address will not be required of migrants. A self-declaration will suffice as both a "family declaration" and a "proof of address."
Ujjwala 2.0 plans to provide the first refill and hotplate free of charge to the beneficiaries, in addition to a deposit-free LPG connection.
In 2016, the Ujjwala 1.0 scheme was launched, to provide LPG connections to five crore women from BPL homes. Following that, in April 2018, the scheme was expanded to cover women from seven additional groups (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most Backward Classes, Tea Garden, Forest Dwellers, and Islands).
The objective was also changed to eight crores LPG connections, which was achieved seven months ahead of schedule in August 2019.
