New Delhi [India], January 14 (ANI): India's Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, took to his social media on Wednesday, highlighting the transformative impact of India's clean cooking initiatives, emphasizing that the true success of the program lies in the regular usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) rather than just the number of connections provided.

In his post on X, he noted that India currently operates a massive nationwide LPG system with 33 crore connections.

He also mentioned the achievement of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which has provided LPG access to 10.41 crore households. The government is now nearing its total target of 10.60 crore connections under the scheme. Minister Puri pointed out that the shift in consumer behaviour is evident through substantial refill statistics. Approximately 276 crore LPG refills have been delivered to PMUY households to date, and in the 2024-25 fiscal year, an average of 13.6 lakh refills are being delivered daily to Ujjwala families. Across the entire country, more than 55 lakh LPG cylinders are delivered every single day.

Data indicates a significant rise in average consumption, which has increased from 3 cylinders to 4.85 cylinders per family. According to the Minister, this trend proves that the initiative is providing 'everyday infrastructure delivering dignity at scale' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The transition marks a clear shift from traditional cooking methods to a more sustainable, healthier, clean-cooking ecosystem for millions of Indian families.

Launched in May 2016, PMUY aims to provide deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households across the country. All PMUY beneficiaries receive a deposit-free LPG connection, which includes a Security Deposit (SD) for the Cylinder, Pressure Regulator, Suraksha Hose, Domestic Gas Consumer Card (DGCC) booklet and installation charges. As per the existing modalities of Ujjwala 2.0, the first refill and stove are also provided free of cost to all beneficiaries. (ANI)