LPG Cooking Gas in India
It was in 1955 at Mumbai, the first commercial operations of Liquefied Petroleum Gas stared in India by Burma Shell Oil Trading Company. Later it was took over by Indian Oil Corporation and a New brand name “INDANE” was formed. The first LPG connection in India was given on 22nd October 1965 at Kolkata. Modern cooking fuel was thus introduced to the kitchens of rich and elite of India. Then from 1965 to 1997, in the period of 32 years only 1 crore 48 lakh LPG connections were registered. By then, cooking using LPG was considered as only for rich and affluent class.
Modiji’s Vision of UJJWALA
When Sri Narendra Modi ji came into power in 2014, he had a grand vision concerning the penetration of cooking gas distribution to rural India and helping the poor to get rid of hazardous house hold Pollution. According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Most of these premature deaths were due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.
So Sri Modi ji was committed to provide free LPG connections to BPL households. Hence Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on May 1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Under this scheme GOI would provide a subsidy of Rs.1,600 for the retailers for a LPG connection. The initial target was 5 Crore connections to poor and underprivileged, but this target was crossed and on 2019 Jan 2, Vice President Sri Venkaiah Naidu ji handed over the 6th Crore LPG connection. Out of these 6 Crore LPG connections 45 % of the connections were given to Dalit Households. All the Dalits who built houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are provided with free LPG under Ujjwala Yojana.
UJJWALA and UTTARA KANNADA
In fifty years since the launch of LPG fuel in India, only 13 crore connections were provided, but then during the NDA regime, in span of just 54 months more than 12 crore connections achieved. Simultaneously LPG penetration in Karnataka has increased from 68.49 percent in June 2014 to 96.75 percent in December 2018. Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana in Uttara Kannada was overwhelmingly successful. More than One Lakh thirty eight thousand new LPG connections were distributed to the poor and rural households.
| Sl No | Taluka | No Of Beneficiaries | Covid19 Special Package | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Of Beneficiaries | Amount | ||||
| 1 | Ankola | 10,568 | 8026 | 62,68,306 | |
| 2 | Bhatkal | 13,859 | 5648 | 44,11,088 | |
| 3 | Haliyal | 9,372 | 7769 | 60,67,589 | |
| 4 | Honnavar | 15,251 | 10,779 | 81,18,399 | |
| 5 | Karwar | 10,126 | 3288 | 25,67,928 | |
| 6 | Kumta | 15,521 | 6920 | 54,04,520 | |
| 7 | Mundagod | 18,327 | 5039 | 39,35,459 | |
| 8 | Siddapura | 9,322 | 4001 | 31,24,781 | |
| 9 | Sirsi | 22,686 | 7156 | 55,88,836 | |
| 10 | Supa | 5,013 | |||
| 11 | Yellapur | 10,080 | 3579 | 27,95,199 | |
| 12 | Kittur | 2,163 | 8003 | 62,50,343 | |
| 13 | Khanapur | 4,721 | 7401 | 57,80,181 | |
| Total | 1,46,563 | 77609 | 6,06,12,629 | ||
