Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is the energy policy initiated by the government of India to provide clean energy fuel to women below the poverty line (BPL), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). This project lead to the empowerment of women and their protection against the health hazards caused from the biomass fuels. The quantitative analysis was implemented in the real time. This approach was of its first kind for such a massive energy policy. The approach used mapping current cooking fuel patterns, expenditure incurred biomass fuels, daily drudgery of procuring firewood or cow dung, key drivers for LPG use and barriers for the non-usage of clean cooking fuel. So, the different scenarios were analyzed with the help of input parameters mentioned. The implementation of the program has been immensely successful. In just one year from May-2016, 2.2 crore BPL women received free LPG connections in rural areas, against the target of 1.5 crore.

Keywords: LPG connection, Gram Panchayat1 , Energy poverty2 , BPL, Women empowerment, Sustainable development3 , Energy security4 , Energy policy5

1 A local self-government organization in India of the Panchayat raj system at the village or small town level, and has a Sarpanch (President) as its elected head

Today, clean fuels play an important role in the development of sustainable development of the human by being the critical to their basic needs of cooking, heating and transportation. This clean fuel burns completely in presence of oxygen and therefore produces very less smoke and other harmful gases which can cause serious health problems. It can be stated that the lack of access to clean fuels and electricity is known as energy poverty.

In traditional patriarchal societies, mostly in the rural India, women are assigned with the responsibility of household duties which includes the preparation of meals, procuring firewood and cow-dung as cooking fuel. This exposes them to the health risks of indoor air pollution. The thick, pungent and unhealthy smoke of carbon dioxide these women get used to the poisonous indoor pollution and suffer from lung diseases, asthmatic problems, breathing troubles and sufferings leads to early death. In the year 2015, most of the deaths occurred due to air pollution out of which 1.24 lakh premature deaths accounted to indoor air pollution. This statistic was observed particularly in the below poverty line (BPL) households; due to cooking fuel. This is the ageless story of India poor women, who spent their entire life in and around these household chores by putting their health on risks every day.

2 Lack of access to modern energy service
3 The development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
4 It is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption
5 Addresses the issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption

The year 2016 had been declared by the Government of India as “The year of LPG consumers” with focus on supplying clean fuel to majority of the households in the coming three years. As part of this thrust, the government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana6 , which aims to provide LPG connections to five crore below poverty line (BPL) households by 2018-19. The scheme majorly focused on the rural India where the ability for paying more for LPG was very less and there were no or few distributors in the region. Hence, the policy allowed securing domestic energy security for the poor and low income groups in India. Additional benefits such as, subsidy in the Jan Dhan7 accounts of the family’s women head were given.

Key Take-Outs from Survey used for Ujjwala Scheme

There should be a reduction in the upfront cost of LPG connections, especially for BPL households. As eighty-six percent (86%) of the household population stated that the high initial cost of connection is the biggest reason for its non-usage. The survey respondents have stated their preference for monthly LPG costs to be either equal or below their current expenses on cooking fuel. There is therefore a need for the optimization of costs of LPG usage. There is also a need of simplifying the process of getting a connection.

At an overall level, LPG penetration across the targeted households would require addressing the barriers of affordability, accessibility and awareness. With affordability emerging as a dominant and recurring barrier across states, it will call for measures on initial and recurring cost. To address accessibility, it would require initiatives on strengthening the infrastructure, particularly on the distribution network for rural and challenging terrain areas. Awareness-related barrier on health, taste and safety will need to be addressed through focussed programmes

In pursuit of bridging this gap between the unconnected and connected LPG households, as well as capture detailed data on barriers to and potential of LPG penetration, the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) commissioned a detailed primary survey across states that have low LPG penetration. The The goal of the survey was to assess the potential of LPG adoption and cooking fuel usage among the unconnected households by:

• Mapping current cooking fuel usage and expenditure incurred on cooking fuel of unconnected households,
• Identifying key drivers and barriers for LPG use among urban and rural households that currently do not use LPG as a cooking fuel,
• Assessing market readiness and price sensitivity for new LPG connections and refilling, and identifying markets that could easily adopt LPG,
• Enumerating conversion drivers that can facilitate LPG adoption in these markets, and
• Providing directions to formulate interventions through schemes/policy frameworks to scale up demand.

The research was based on quantitative method using structured face-toface interviews. The survey was conducted in those states having LPG penetration of less than 50%. The total of 13 states, 120 districts and 1,413 Gram Panchayats were taken after short-listing the samples. It was decided to select these 120 districts, keeping in view: the LPG penetration in the district based on active connection in June 2015, topography of the area, demographic profile in terms of percentage of tribe population and schedule caste population. Accordingly a sample size of 1, 03,000 (one lakh three thousand) respondents was planned and achieved8 .

In traditional patriarchal societies, mostly in the rural India, women are assigned with the responsibility of household duties which includes the preparation of meals, procuring firewood and cow-dung as cooking fuel. This exposes them to the health risks of indoor air pollution. The thick, pungent and unhealthy smoke of carbon dioxide these women get used to the poisonous indoor pollution and suffer from lung diseases, asthmatic problems, breathing troubles and sufferings leads to early death. In the year 2015, most of the deaths occurred due to air pollution out of which 1.24 lakh premature deaths accounted to indoor air pollution. This statistic was observed particularly in the below poverty line (BPL) households; due to cooking fuel. This is the ageless story of India poor women, who spent their entire life in and around these household chores by putting their health on risks every day.

8 Assessment report: Primary survey on household cooking fuel usage and willingness to convert to LPG/PPAC/CRISIL

The structured survey, the largest carried out in the history of India in the energy sector, amassed primary data from 1.03 lakh unconnected LPG households across 120 districts in 13 states - Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The survey was conducted over 53 days by 122 members of the Prastut team, covering 120 districts, 211 sub-districts, across topographies such as hilly areas, forest areas, plains, etc. for a complete representation, in terms of demographic profile, occupation, culture, income patterns and accessibility. In addition to households, 1,418 gram panchayats were interviewed / surveyed in the 120 districts to seek their views on drivers and barriers of LPG usage.

The questionnaires’ design required defining the statistical goal for survey and identifying the information to be collected. After conducting several rounds of suggestions with valuable inputs from senior members, the pilot questionnaire were prepared. These questionnaires were framed to check understanding, flow and ease of translation into different languages. The questionnaires were developed into two sets i.e. household and Gram Panchayat.

Under the household questionnaire; the information such as:- demographic information, fuel used for cooking, awareness of LPG as a cooking fuel, reason for not applying for LPG, reason for delay in supplying a new LPG refill and motivators for shifting to LPG10. Gram Panchayat questionnaire included the village information such as; area, population and current status of village. Preferential fuel used for working. Other parameters included; the non-availability of LPG connections in Gram Panchayat area, key reasons for non-usage and total time taken to refill LPG cylinder. Government support is needed to facilitate increase adoption of LPG in the GP. These questionnaires were translated into vernacular languages of all 13 states after a pilot survey.

A co-ordination team was set-up for daily reports, regular updating against planned sample at the village/ sub district/ district level, team movement, quality control, training to state co-coordinators, courier tracking and orientation of the teams regarding their role and responsibility. Supervisors of the research team at the head office randomly and systematically checked households to verify the data collected. All responses recorded by field personnel were checked by supervisors.

Questionnaires received at the head office were segregated on the basis of state, district, block and GP. Before data entry, phone calls were made to the respondents and GPs, as per available phone numbers, in order to verify the name of the respondent as well as responses with respect to fuel used, expenses, LPG usage, intention to subscribe for LPG connection, etc. If all requirements were met, the questionnaires were selected for further analysis.

Since the project was conducted on such a large-scale, from the time of planning for the project to its execution, our team came across many challenges during the project.

Considering the geographical locations of each state, the samples were very large. Show cards were used for communication with respondents with low or no literacy. Respondents were not able to provide their daily consumption of different fuels in standard units. During the day-time the chief wage earners were not available at their homes. Field teams had to conduct surveys during the early-mornings or late-nights. The stateelections became another challenge during the execution of the project in eastern states like Bihar.

a) Current cooking fuel consumption

Primary cooking fuels used in India by unconnected households are biomass, cow dung cakes and firewood. Across the surveyed states, an average 35% unconnected households procure firewood for free, 76% procure cow-dung cakes for free and 88% procure biomass for free for cooking.

The primary survey revealed that unconnected households use an average of 121 kg firewood per month. High usage of firewood (more than 150 kg/month) is seen in districts that are located in dense forests and areas with high tribal population. Usage of cow dung on an average is 98 kg per month at an overall level. Use of biomass is 33-125 kg/month in states where it is used as supplementary fuel to firewood. Biomass usage in India is the highest in West Bengal at an average of 125 kg/month.

b) Expenditure on cooking fuels

Cumulative average expenditure on cooking fuel (firewood, biomass and/or cow dung) is Rs 358/month across the 13 surveyed states for households where at least one of the three fuels is purchased.

Cumulatively, for all surveyed states, free procurement of cooking fuel declined from 41% in households with monthly household income (MHI) of less than Rs 2,250 to 34% in the Rs 2,250-5,000 MHI bracket, and further to 26% in the over Rs 5,000 MHI bracket. This shows that higher economic status translates into lower propensity to spend time and effort in procuring free fuel.

Monthly expenses on cooking fuel also shows a high degree of correlation with MHI – rise in MHI increases the expenditure on cooking fuel (as the component of free fuel declines). Monthly expense for the lowest MHI segment is estimated at Rs 334, with 59% of the households in the segment paying for fuel. This increases to Rs 356 for the mid-MHI segment, with 66% procuring paid fuel, and reaches Rs 396 for the high MHI segment of Rs 5,000, wherein 74% pay for fuel.

c) Key barriers to adoption to LPG Affordability-related barriers

Key barriers for not applying for LPG connection are high initial cost, including security deposit / price of gas stove (86%) and high recurring cost of the cylinder (83%). Of the 120 districts surveyed, 58 districts reported high degree of reluctance (over 90% unconnected households) to opt for LPG as cooking fuel due to the high initial cost. Owing to high price of LPG refill, 54 out of 120 districts reported high reluctance (over 90% unconnected households).

Among all the 13 surveyed states, high initial cost has emerged as a barrier among 86% households, irrespective of monthly income level. High recurring cost emerged as a barrier among 81% households with monthly income below Rs2,250/month, 84% households with Rs 2,250-5,000/month income and 84% households with Rs 5,000/month and above income. This indicates that refill cost is also a significant barrier regardless of the household income level.

d) Availability-related barriers

Although there are perceptible variations in the traditional fuel mix varies across the surveyed states, the unifying feature is limited access to LPG. While price of LPG has been cited by GPs as the most significant barrier for usage of LPG, another barrier is the non-availability of LPG distributors operating in their respective regions.

Other significant barriers are long waiting periods to get a refill, distance of the distribution centre and tedious application procedure. These barriers, including the tedious application process and long waiting time for LPG refill, could be perception-related issues, as the respondents are not yet connected to the LPG service.

e) Awareness-related barriers

Among the surveyed states, the perception of LPG being unsafe is as high as 46%. Non-familiarity about operating an LPG stove is a concern expressed by 35% of the surveyed households. Moreover, there is poor awareness about the adverse health impact of traditional cooking fuels.

Meanwhile, the awareness level about LPG is high at 93% at an overall level across the surveyed states. Also, majority of the respondents had valid ID proof, which is an essential document to avail an LPG connection. However, only 39% of the respondents expressed their willingness to pay more in comparison to the alternate fuel they were using. Hence, price is a crucial impediment for the households to switch to LPG.

Key Take-Outs from Survey used for Ujjwala Scheme

There should be a reduction in the upfront cost of LPG connections, especially for BPL households. As eighty-six percent (86%) of the household population stated that the high initial cost of connection is the biggest reason for its non-usage. The survey respondents have stated their preference for monthly LPG costs to be either equal or below their current expenses on cooking fuel. There is therefore a need for the optimization of costs of LPG usage. There is also a need of simplifying the process of getting a connection.

At an overall level, LPG penetration across the targeted households would require addressing the barriers of affordability, accessibility and awareness. With affordability emerging as a dominant and recurring barrier across states, it will call for measures on initial and recurring cost. To address accessibility, it would require initiatives on strengthening the infrastructure, particularly on the distribution network for rural and challenging terrain areas. Awareness-related barrier on health, taste and safety will need to be addressed through focussed programmes. 

Key Take-Outs from Survey used for Ujjwala Scheme

There should be a reduction in the upfront cost of LPG connections, especially for BPL households. As eighty-six percent (86%) of the household population stated that the high initial cost of connection is the biggest reason for its non-usage. The survey respondents have stated their preference for monthly LPG costs to be either equal or below their current expenses on cooking fuel. There is therefore a need for the optimization of costs of LPG usage. There is also a need of simplifying the process of getting a connection.

At an overall level, LPG penetration across the targeted households would require addressing the barriers of affordability, accessibility and awareness. With affordability emerging as a dominant and recurring barrier across states, it will call for measures on initial and recurring cost. To address accessibility, it would require initiatives on strengthening the infrastructure, particularly on the distribution network for rural and challenging terrain areas. Awareness-related barrier on health, taste and safety will need to be addressed through focussed programmes. 

On Ground Results

The women of the rural-areas have been benefitted the most. Now, they are able to cook their meals in smoke-free environmental. Earlier, women would spend significant amount of time collecting firewood. With the help of this energy policy, women are able to invest a significant amount of time in gaining skills and support their household through additional income. Overall LPG coverage has risen from 55% in 2014 to 93% of the population till February 2019. In terms of refills, about 23 crore refills have been bought by the beneficiaries of the scheme in a year. For subsequent refills, beneficiaries have to pay the full amount and the subsidy is then transferred directly to the women’s bank accounts.

Apart from health benefits, Ujjwala Yojana has led to lower healthcare expenditure and more savings. So, the Ujjwala Yojana is having a wide-scale impact on health, savings, as well as increasing labor productivity. Hence, the Yojana has elevated the quality of life from a life filled with indoor pollution to a smoke-free life. 

9 PPAC Ujjwala report/2018

10 LPG as a clean cooking fuel: Adoption and use/ Elsevier.com/-Carlos F. Gould, Johannes Urpelainen