The government has limited the subsidy on cooking gas LPG to only 9 crore poor women and other recipients who received free connections through the Ujjwala scheme, with the remaining customers, including homes, paying market rates.
Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain revealed at a press conference that no cooking gas subsidy has been paid since June 2020, and that the only subsidy offered is the one announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 21.
Sitharaman had while announcing a cut in excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6, stated that Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries will get Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy for 12 bottles in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels. A 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,003 in the national capital.
Beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will receive a Rs 200 subsidy directly in their bank account, making the effective price for them Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder. In Delhi, the rest will set you back Rs 1,003. According to her, the Rs 200 subsidy will cost the government Rs 6,100 crore.