Subsidy of Rs 200 per gas cylinder for upto 12 cylinders to be given to over 9 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that this year, government will give a subsidy of 200 rupees per gas cylinder upto 12 cylinders to over 9 crore beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. This will have a revenue implication of around 6100 crore rupees a year.

Government is also reducing the customs duty on raw materials and intermediaries for plastic products where country’s import dependence is high. This will result in reduction of cost of final products.

Ms Sitharaman said similarly, customs duty is being calibrated on raw materials and intermediaries for iron and steel to reduce their prices. Import duty on some raw materials of steel will be reduced.

Export duty on some steel products will be levied. She said measures are being taken up to improve the availability of Cement and through better logistics to reduce the cost of cement.

She said the world is passing through difficult times due to Covid and Ukraine conflict has brought in supply chain problems and shortages of various goods.This has resulted in inflation and economic distress in a lot of countries. But despite the adverse economic conditions, Narendra Modi government is committed to ensure that prices of essential items are kept under control.

She stressed that government is devoted to the welfare of the poor and has taken a number of steps to help the poor and middle class. She said that as a result of these initiatives, the average inflation during this government’s tenure has remained lower than during previous governments.

The Minister said even a few developed countries could not escape some shortages and disruptions but asserted government has ensured that there is no shortage of essential goods.

She said even during the pandemic, NDA government set a paradigm of welfare, especially with PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. She added that this is now acknowledged and appreciated the world over.

Despite rising fertilizer prices globally, the Minister highlighted that the government has protected farmers from such price hikes. In addition to the fertilizer subsidy of 1.05 lakh crore rupees in the budget, an additional amount of 1.10 lakh crore rupees is being provided to further cushion country’s farmers.

Ms Sitharaman stated that Prime Minister Modi has specifically asked all arms of the government to work with sensitivity and give relief to the common man.