PM: Rural poor need power,LPG subsidy

Amid the controversy over cap on subsidised LPG cylinders,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government recognises that some subsidy

Amid the controversy over cap on subsidised LPG cylinders,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government recognises that some subsidy has to be given for rural poor for cooking gas and electricity as part of its endeavour to give access to energy to all.

He talked about target subsidy as best as possible while stating that the government was planning to transfer subsidy amount directly to bank accounts of bonafide beneficiaries.

We aim to provide every Indian household with clean cooking fuel. This is a huge task but it is not unattainable. It is something we must do on priority, Singh said inaugurating the International Seminar on Energy Access here.

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He said the government had launched a pilot scheme in Mysore,Karnataka where 27,000 deliveries of subsidised cylinders were made after successful biometric authentication of any family member present using the unique identification number.

Around 12 per cent of around 190 million rural households use LPG to meet their cooking energy needs. Giving all 240 million households an entitlement of six LPG cylinders per year will require only around 25 million tonnes of LPG. This should be manageable, Singh said.

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