Impact of Ujjwala Yojana on Rural Women’s Life

INTRODUCTION

The smoke that rises from cooking food in the wood surrounds women with many types of diseases like respiratory and headache. Pradhanmantri Ujjwala yojana was started by the Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modiji on 1st may 2016 in ballia district of Uttar Pradesh to improve the lines of the women of BPL family. The main goal of this yojana was to distribute free LPG connections to 5 crore poor people falling below the poverty line in the country by 2019. More than 3.5 crore free connections have been distributed fill April 2018. In view of the success of the Ujjwala scheme, the central government has increased its target from 5 crore to 8 crores by March 2020. According to the WHO report, more than 5 lakh women die every year in India due to fossil fuel and millions of women face health problems. Under the Ujjjwala scheme, the central Govt. incurs an expenditure of Rs. 1600 on each connection whereas each new connection cost Rs. 3100 or Rs. 3200. After this the beneficiary family has to spend Rs. 1500 for the gas stove and the first cylinder. Ujjwala scheme is very important not only from the point of view of socio- economic upliftment but it is also very useful from environmental point of view beneficial A total investment of more than Rs. 1200 Crore is involved under this scheme. In the first phase, the government released a total amount of Rs. 8,000 Cr. It is known that more than a one third of the world‘s population uses fossil fuel only for domestic uses. The expansion of Ujjwala Yojana will reduce the cutting of trees for firewood and the environment will also be safe and will also get the strength to fight climate change. Finance Minister Mrs. Seetaraman has announced to give connection to one crore more people under this scheme in the budget of 2020-22. Due to which this scheme will be further expanded.

• To know that how the ujjwala scheme working in rural areas. • To know that actual benefits of Ujjwala scheme. • To know that how much strength given by Ujjwala scheme to rural women‘s. • To know that present situation of Ujjwala scheme.

Various articles and research papers have been studied by the researches regarding the Ujjwala

Raman Devi (2017) studied effect of fossil fuel on health according to WHO report in his article ―Pradhanmantri Ujjwala scheme: Issues and challenges. Amose, T and Sree Devi, N (2017) in their article ―An Economic Assessment to Pradhanmantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY), of Central Government of India‖ discussed the impact of this scheme on socio-economic, education, health etc.

The main objective of this scheme is to provide LPG connection to the poor women so that women empowerment is promoted and their health can also be protected. Preventing selling of trees taking care of women‘s health, promoting women empowerment and keeping the environment sale are also the main objective of this scheme.

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala scheme will provide 5 crore gas connection for BPL families with financial assistance of Rs. 1600. • EMI facility will also be provided at the cost of gas and refill. This will be interest free loan. • Connections will be issued in the name os women only.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is an important factor for social- economics change and women empowerment in independent India. Women empowerment is deeply linked to the energy economy of the country. The scheme is related to the Ministry of Petroleum Natural Gas. Under this scheme, women will get clean fuel for cooking. Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayats were started for further expansion of this scheme. In this, the beneficiaries of Ujjwalal scheme are encouraged for safe and sustainable use of LPG 87,876 LPG Panchayats were organize across the country. In February 2018, our president shree Ramnath Kovind Ji organized LPG Panchayat in Rashtrapati Bhavan to be very useful for women empowerment in future.

The Ujjwala Yojana was started by the government with the aim of providing gas cylinders to the economically weaker women so for about 8.3 crore poor families have been benefited under this scheme. It also said that free gas cylinders will be given to the scheme is being given to those families whose name is in the BPL card in the 2011 census.

Ujjwala Yojana is an ambitious scheme of the Central Government dedicated to the upliftment of rural poor women for the success of this scheme, the Central Govt. has revised its goals by the evaluation it from time to time. It was concluded during the study that this scheme is proving to be a milestone for rural women. This scheme empowered women, saved them for serious diseases and paved the way for a healthy life and there has also been a reduction in the cutting of trees due to which nature has also benefited a lot. I have studied many schemes in the past but in the study of this scheme, it has so many positive aspects that the place of negative aspects remains insignificant. In fact, I think this plan perfectly fulfills the saying that ―Hitting many targets with one arrow‖. Because our nature has not benefited less than the poor rural women have benefited from this scheme.

From time to time, this scheme has been evaluated by the central Govt., reforms and targets have been redefined, so I this there is no place for more suggestion I the scheme, yet there can be some following suggestion of this scheme:- • To make rural women more aware about the benefits of this scheme, for this a women should be selected from the same village. Who is fully aware of the situation there. • In this scheme, the number of six cylinders should be fixed free or at a minimum rates which is at the rate of two months per cylinder. • It should also be ensured that rural women do not use fossil fuel at all.

Ghosh, S. K. (2020). Making Ujjwala Yojana the livewire of rural India post the LPG price increase (Issue No. 73). Ecowrap, SBI. M Bansal, R. P. Saini, D. K. Khatod, Development of the cooking sector in rural areas in India- A review Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, volume 17, page 44-53, posted: 2013. S. Agarwal, S. Kumar, M. K. Tiwari-Decision support system for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana yojana www.petroleum.nic.in

Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University, Lucknow