Government Cuts Subsidised Ujjwala LPG Cylinders To Four Annually

New Delhi:The Union Government has officially reduced the annual quota of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refills for beneficiaries of the flagship Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from nine cylinders to just four per financial year. The decision arrives as surging international energy prices put severe financial pressure on domestic state-run oil marketing companies.  

According to officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the revised allocation of four subsidised 14.2-kg cylinders annually is designed to align fiscal resources directly with actual average household consumption patterns. When the welfare scheme originally launched in 2016, beneficiaries were entitled to 12 subsidised refills, which dropped to nine last year before this latest contraction.  

Despite the reduction in the total number of capped refills, eligible households will continue to receive the targeted direct benefit transfer subsidy of ₹300 per cylinder. Following a recent domestic retail price hike of ₹29, a standard domestic cylinder now costs ₹942 in Delhi. For Ujjwala consumers, the direct cash subsidy effectively lowers their out-of-pocket cost to ₹642 per cylinder for their first four annual refills.  

Government data indicates that international supply disruptions in West Asia have driven procurement costs up dramatically, with the Saudi Contract Price for LPG jumping nearly 46% since February. Officials noted that the true market supply cost of a domestic cylinder currently exceeds ₹1,600. Even after adjusting retail prices, fuel retailers are bearing substantial under-recovery losses of roughly ₹700 on every household cylinder sold. The government emphasized that both general consumers and PMUY families continue to absorb heavy indirect subsidies, shielding vulnerable populations from the full brunt of volatile global oil and gas markets.