Ujjwala 2.0 | 11 Aug 2021
Why in News
- On August 10, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana 'Ujjwala Yojana 2.0' in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh.
Key Points
- The Prime Minister launched the Ujjwala 2.0 scheme by giving new LPG connections to 1,000 women in the state. Under Ujjwala Yojana 2.0, one crore poor families will be given LPG connections free of cost.
- Under this scheme, the beneficiaries will not only get deposit-free LPG connection but also free of cost first refill and hotplate.
- The poor families left out in the first phase of this scheme and not covered under the scheme will get the benefit in this second phase.
- It is noteworthy that the Ujjwala scheme was launched on May 1, 2016, from the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. At that time a target was set to provide free LPG connections to 5 crore women members of BPL households.
- In April 2018 the scheme was expanded 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 crores LPG connections. This target was achieved in August 2019, seven months ahead of the target date.