New Delhi: In a welcome announcement just before the festive season, the Union Cabinet revealed a reduction in the prices of household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The move comes as a relief for consumers, with Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister, sharing the news. The subsidy for Ujjwala Scheme beneficiaries has now been increased to Rs 400 per LPG cylinder.

As a gesture for Rakshabandhan and Onam, Anurag Thakur, during a Cabinet briefing, unveiled a price reduction of Rs 200 per LPG cylinder for Ujjwala Scheme recipients.  Anurag Thakur stated, "All domestic LPG cylinder users will receive a Rs 200 subsidy per cylinder. Additionally, those under the PM Ujjwala scheme will get this extra subsidy alongside their existing subsidy." This additional LPG cylinder subsidy will benefit around 33 crore consumers and will be implemented starting today, according to the minister. Beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana will continue to receive the Rs 200 subsidy per LPG cylinder directly in their accounts. The government has also sanctioned an additional 75 lakh Ujjwala connections, raising the total count of PM Ujjwala beneficiaries to 10.35 crore.

Addressing concerns about the LPG price reduction being linked to upcoming elections, Thakur clarified that this decision had nothing to do with any elections. He emphasized that the decision was made to offer relief and benefits to 33 crore users. Thakur disclosed, "The financial impact of the extra Rs 200 subsidy per LPG cylinder is estimated to be Rs 7,680 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24." Furthermore, the Cabinet approved the provision of 7.5 million new gas connections under the Ujjwala scheme. The government had been evaluating the under-recovery on the subsidy provided for cooking gas. It's worth noting that LPG prices had not been reduced for a while, despite the decline in raw material costs. Currently, the cost of domestic LPG used for cooking purposes is Rs 1,103 per 14.2-kg cylinder in New Delhi. The domestic LPG rate was last revised on March 1, with a hike of Rs 50 per cylinder.

The Union Budget 2023-24 had allocated Rs 30,000 crore as capital support to state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1, 2016, to provide 50 million LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

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