(FE)
With more than 3 crore liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections issued within 18 months since the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the ministry of petroleum and natural gas is set to move a Cabinet note to increase the number of beneficiaries to be covered under the scheme. The ministry is expecting an additional grant of Rs 4,800 crore over and above the already budgeted Rs 8,000 crore to issue 3 crore additional connections on top of the 5 crore targeted earlier. “The work to extend the target to 8 crore is at an advanced stage. A Cabinet note is expected within a month,” said a government official close to the development, requesting anonymity. The initial target of the flagship scheme of the National Democratic Alliance government was to issue 5 crore connections to women belonging to the below-poverty-line category within three years of launching the scheme in May 2016.
