In a Diwali bonanza for the people of Gujarat, the state government today announced to give two free cooking gas cylinders (Liquefied petroleum gas-LPG) to beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. The decision will benefit aroudnd 38 lakh people across the state as they will get two LPG cylinders free per year. The state government also announced to cut Value Added Tax or VAT on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) prices by 10 per cent. This will make CNG cheaper by Rs 7 per kg and PNG cheaper by Rs 6 per standard cubic metre (SCM).


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The move to reduce VAT on CNG will benefit around 14 lakh CNG vehicle owners. This comes as a relief for the common man as the reduction in prices will ease the burden on their pocket. While they would be able to save around Rs 1600 for two LPG cylinders, they will save around somewhere around Rs 60 to 150 per month each on the LPG and CNG consumption.  


The LPG prices are around Rs 1050 across India. The Ujjwala scheme beneficiaries get a rebate of Rs 200 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).


According to the state government, the reduction in the VAT will put an additional burden of Rs 1,650 crore on the government. State Education Minister and Gujarat government spokesperson Jitu Vaghani termed it a Diwali gift for the citizens. 


Vaghani said that around Rs 650 crore grant will be utilised for providing two free LPG cylinder and money for these cylinders will be directly deposited into the accounts of beneficiaries.