Pm Ujjwala Yojana (Pmuy) Reduced Air Pollution Over 1.5 Lakh Deaths In 2019: Study

Why in news?

• An independent impact assessment of Ujjwala programme has found that:
• PMUY helped in avoiding at least 1.8 million tonnes of PM2.5 emissions in 2019.
• Biomass burning in household cooking could be contributing 30-40% of outdoor air pollution.

About Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• It was launched in 2016 by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to provide LPG connection to the rural and deprived households that were using traditional fuels like wood, cow-dung cakes, or coal for cooking purposes.
• It aims to reduce premature deaths due to Indoor air pollution.
• Ujjwala 2.0 was launched in 2021, with an aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
• Eligibility Criteria for PMUY
• An adult woman belonging to a poor household and not having LPG connection in her household, will be eligible under UJJWALA 2.0.
• The beneficiaries should belong to any of the following categories:
• Eligible as per SECC 2011 list
• Belongs to SC/ST households, be a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, People residing in riverislands. ‘1- If she is not falling in the above 2 categories, then she can stake her claim to be a beneficiary under Poor household by submitting 14-point declaration.

About Indoor air pollution:

• It refers to chemical, biological and physical contamination of indoor air.
• WHO fact sheet on household air pollution due to indoor pollutants states that 3.8 million premature deaths occur annually.
• Indoor pollutants recognised: NOx, S02, ozone (03), CO, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM, radon and microorganisms
• Impacts: Risks of stroke, ischaemic heart diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, lung cancer.

Other steps taken for Indoor air pollution:

• Unnat Chulha Abhiyan, National Biomass Cook stoves Initiative, Promoting solar cookers, Neerdhur etc.