PMUY has been hailed as a landmark clean-cooking-fuel scheme. Critically evaluate how supply-side shocks can undermine its objectives.

Launched in May 2016 to release deposit-free LPG connections to adult women of poor households, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to replace biomass with clean cooking fuel [1]. Its gains are real, but they rest on an import-dependent supply chain, making the scheme only as secure as the fuel that reaches the kitchen.

Achievements that justify the "landmark" label

• Scale of access: over 10.33 crore connections released, a rapid expansion of household LPG coverage [1].
• Health and gender dividend: reduced indoor air pollution and freedom from the drudgery of firewood collection for women [1].
• Affordability support: continued targeted subsidy of ₹12,000 crore for 2025-26 sustains refill capacity [4].

How supply-side shocks undermine these objectives

• Import dependence: disruption risk at the Strait of Hormuz during the 2026 West Asia conflict directly threatened LPG availability [2].
• Access reversal: new 14.2-kg domestic connections have remained on hold in major metros since mid-March 2026 — first-time, mostly poorer applicants are excluded precisely when they seek clean fuel [3].
• Cost distortion: interim substitutes such as 5-kg and 10-kg cylinders carry a higher per-unit burden for low-income users [2][3].
• Behavioural relapse: scarcity and panic-driven refill booking push households back to firewood and coal, defeating the health objective [2].
• Governance opacity: continuation of a "temporary" freeze through routine advisories, without clear review timelines, weakens accountability [3].

Mitigating response Maximised domestic LPG output, diversified sourcing including US cargoes, and accelerated PNG gasification by city gas distributors cushioned the shock [2].

Supply shocks therefore do not negate PMUY's success; they expose that the scheme was designed around access rather than assured, affordable continuity of supply. Deepening strategic reserves, widening import sourcing, expanding piped gas as a structural substitute, and codifying transparent crisis protocols would convert a connection-counting scheme into genuine energy security, advancing SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy for all.