Beyond the barriers of affordability: An analysis of India’s cooking fuel support program under the COVID-19 assistance package

• by Anurodh Giri and Arshi Aadil
• Oct 11, 2021
• 1 min
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India responded to the COVID-19 crisis by announcing several relief measures under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). As part of PMGKY, 80 million poor women enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), received cash transfers in their bank accounts to purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This paper assess the program’s efficacy and the experience of beneficiaries in receiving advance transfers into their bank accounts and purchasing LPG refills during and after the lockdown.

As India was struck hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government declared several relief measures under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). As part of PMGKY, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries were to receive advance cash transfers in their bank accounts to purchase three liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters. According to government statistics, around 75 million women received the transfers.

 MSC conducted two rounds of demand–side research using a mixed–methods approach to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention and the experience of beneficiaries in receiving the cash transfers and purchasing LPG refills during and after the lockdown. The paper suggests that India must now work to promote and sustain LPG usage, which remains a significant challenge.