Ujjwala Yojana to benefit eight crore women now

Why in News?
• Union Cabinet has increased the target and budgetary allocation for the Ujjwala Yojana.

Other cabinet decisions:
• The Union cabinet also took few other decisions like:
1. Increasing the minimum support price for copra
2. ‎Extending the Discovered Small Fields Policy to include more oil and gas fields
3. ‎Giving ex post facto approval to the changes made in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill
4. ‎Approving of the incorporation of the official amendments to the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2016

About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
• It was launched by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in May, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
• ‎Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census is given a deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre for the next three years.
• ‎The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Aim
• It aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel LPG so that they don’t have to compromise their health in smoky kitchens or wander in unsafe areas collecting firewood.

Objectives
• Empowering women and protecting their health.
• ‎Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.
• ‎Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.
• ‎Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.

Source:PIB

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