DNA Edit: Ujjwala to the fore - Evident link between successful politics & effective welfare

Those seeking to draw a link between successful politics and effective social welfare schemes need not go far. Take a look at the Modi government’s Ujjwala scheme.

It is widely seen as being among those government plans that have contributed to the BJP’s return to power at the Centre. Ujjwala — or the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) — is likely to achieve this month the target of providing free cooking gas connections to 80 million poor households, six months before the deadline set for them.

No surprise then that its success is likely to be expanded to cover more underprivileged families ahead of key Assembly elections later this year. Assembly polls are due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand and the expanded scope of the scheme is likely to benefit the ruling BJP.

The Union cabinet in February 2018 enhanced the target from 50 million to 80 million connections with a March 2020 deadline. PM Narendra Modi launched the PMUY in May 2016, nine months before the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, and the scheme played an important part in BJP’s return to power there after over a decade.

To take the welfare scheme to the next level, the government has reimbursed Rs 10,675 crore to oil marketing companies (OMCs). Apparently, state-run OMCs have received over 100 million applications from prospective consumers under the scheme and hence, there is tremendous scope for extension.

Eligible beneficiaries will be chosen after a proper verification process to ensure that they do not already have connections in the names of their other family members.