Clean Cooking & Gas

In 2014 national LPG coverage stood at 55.9%, and hundreds of millions still cooked over smoky firewood and coal. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in 2016, gave deposit-free LPG connections to poor women, and India's LPG consumer base more than doubled — from 14.52 crore in 2014 to 33.18 crore in 2026 — lifting national coverage from 55.9% to 107.2%.

Ujjwala has released over 10.5 crore connections, and its 2.0 phase added a free first refill and hotplate. Ujjwala households receive a ₹300 subsidy per cylinder on the first four refills each year, and the International Energy Agency has called LPG access across India a major achievement.

PM Ujjwala Yojana tackles the health and drudgery of cooking on firewood and dung by giving poor women a deposit-free LPG connection in their own name. The scheme is designed around sustained use, not just the first connection: a targeted per-cylinder subsidy keeps refills affordable, so Ujjwala families stay on clean fuel year after year.

Ujjwala has delivered over 10.5 crore connections, and India's overall LPG coverage has climbed from 62% (2016) to 107.2% (2026). The next step is turning connections into steady use — keeping refills affordable (via the ₹300-per-cylinder subsidy on the first four refills a year), promoting smaller 5-kg cylinders and piped gas, so the health gains for women stick. The longer horizon is even cleaner cooking: electric and biogas.

14.52 → 33.18 crore LPG consumers (2014→2026). 10.5 crore+ Ujjwala connections. 55.9% → 107.2% LPG coverage (2014→2026). Sources: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas via PIB.