First private player to join PMUY Plus
The government's flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana (PMUY), is set to get an image makeover with the
participation of private corporates and other individuals through a scheme called PMUY Plus. Interestingly, the first company that has shown interest to be part of PMUY Plus is international petroleum giant Saudi Aramco. The Rs 8,000-crore PMUY was launched on May 1 this year, to provide 50 million free LPG connections in the name of women members of poor households. Impressed by the scheme, spearheaded by petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan himself, a lot of private companies and individuals have shown interest to be part of this initiatives. Following this, Pradhan initiated the concept of PMUY Plus through which private parties can pay for the subsidy of below poverty line families.
- Till last week, about 7.8 million connections were given under PMUY scheme in more than 15 states -- including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- According to the petroleum ministry data, OMCs added 16 million consumers in 2014-15 and 20 million in 2015-16.
- During this fiscal, the government has already added more than 11 million customers as per industry sources, gathering impetus from PMUY scheme.
- Through the massive de-duplication exercise, the government was successful in cutting 69 million illegal LPG connections in the past two years.