More than 9 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will now get a subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder (for up to 12 cylinders), leading to a reduction in its price, which will now cost Rs 803 per 14.2 kg cylinder.
A 14.2 kg LPG cylinder normally costs Rs 1,003 in the national capital. Poor women, who received free cooking gas connections under the scheme, will get the Rs 200 subsidy directly in their bank accounts.
The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday through a series of tweets.
The move will help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels. Ms Sitharaman had also said that it will have a revenue implication of around Rs 6,100 crore a year.
It is being seen as a move to counter rising inflation as cooking gas LPG prices on Thursday had risen for the second time this month by Rs 3.50, taking them over the Rs 1,000-mark across the country.
On 19 May, 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinders in Delhi and Mumbai were priced at Rs 1,003 each. In Kolkata they cost Rs 1,029 while in Chennai the price stood at Rs 1,018.5 per cylinder.
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