PM Ujjwala Yojana Refills Double in Five Years, Says Government

The opposition has consistently criticized the Narendra Modi government over the alleged lack of refills under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), claiming that beneficiaries are reverting to firewood for cooking. However, recent government data contradicts such assertions, highlighting a significant rise in refills under the scheme.

According to figures presented in Parliament, the number of LPG refills under PMUY has doubled in the past five years, with per capita consumption among beneficiaries increasing to nearly four-and-a-half cylinders per year.

As of March 1, 2025, there are 10.33 crore active PMUY connections nationwide. The number of refills delivered under the scheme has already surpassed the previous financial year’s total, with 41.95 crore refills supplied till February 2025, compared to 39.38 crore in 2023-24. In 2019-20, only 22.80 crore refills were recorded, marking an almost 100% increase in the current financial year.

The government further informed Parliament that the per capita LPG consumption among PMUY beneficiaries has steadily risen, from 3.68 cylinders in FY 2021-22 to 3.95 in FY 2023-24, and reaching 4.43 in FY 2024-25 (up to January 2025). This improvement is attributed to various initiatives aimed at enhancing access and affordability of domestic LPG.

“Since the launch of the PMUY, OMCs have delivered a total of 234.02 crore LPG refills (in terms of 14.2 Kg cylinders) to PMUY customers, including the initial installation refill, up to February 2025. During FY 2024-25 (till February 2025), OMCs have been delivering approximately 12.6 lakh LPG refills (in terms of 14.2 Kg cylinders) per day," the government stated in Parliament.

Launched in May 2016, PMUY aims to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from economically weaker households. The scheme achieved its initial target of 8 crore connections in September 2019. To cover additional poor households, Ujjwala 2.0 was introduced in August 2021, with a target of 1 crore more connections, which was met by January 2022. Subsequently, the government expanded the target to 1.60 crore connections under Ujjwala 2.0, successfully achieving it in December 2022.