New Delhi [India]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Ujjwala 2.0 (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana – PMUY) by handing over LPG connections, at Mahoba Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday at 12:30 PM via video conferencing. During the event, the Prime Minister will interact with beneficiaries of the Ujjwala and will also address the nation, informed the official release from the Prime Minister’s Office. During Ujjwala 1.0 launched in 2016, a target was set to provide Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to five crore women members of below poverty line (BPL) households. Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands). Also, the target was revised to eight crore LPG connections. This target was achieved in August 2019, seven months ahead of the target date. In the Union budget for the financial year 2021-22, provision for an additional one crore LPG connection under the PMUY scheme was announced. These one crore additional PMUY connections (under Ujjwala 2.0) aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY. Along with a deposit-free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide the first refill and hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries. Also, the enrollment procedure will require minimal paperwork. In Ujjwala 2.0, migrants will not be required to submit ration cards or address proof. A self-declaration for both ‘family declaration’ and as a ‘proof of address’ will suffice. Ujjwala 2.0 will help achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of universal access to LPG. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep S Puri and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath will also be present on the occasion.
