Deepam Scheme {దీపం పథకం}
Overview
Switching to LPG entirely for households' energy needs can quickly lower the exposure of indoor air pollution. However, there are numerous reasons people don't use LPG, and the main reason is the higher cost than other alternatives. That is why a subsidy scheme will be beneficial for the poor people in India. The Government of India attempted many initiatives, such as giving significant subsidies for distributing kerosene via the Public Distribution System.
The state government of Andhra Pradesh introduced the Deepam Scheme in July 1999 for overcoming the monetary barriers.
Under this scheme, the LPG connections will be provided with subsidies for the households below the poverty line. The new users in Andhra Pradesh have to give one thousand rupees for the LPG connection and to get the LPG stove and other accessories for an extra cost of one thousand rupees. To help reduce the cost, the Government of Andhra Pradesh launched the Deepam Scheme's subsidy. Under the scheme, the Government provides LPG connection to the women belonging from the self-help groups and who are from the below poverty line households having the white ration cards. Almost 373,000 self-help groups are concluding of more than five million members in the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh.
Benefits
The state government will provide money around INR 1450 to INR 1600 for the following:
- Gas Stove
- Regulator
- Gas Cylinder
- Other Accessories
Documents Required
The beneficiary of this scheme needs to submit the following documents to access this scheme:
- Aadhar card
- White ration card
- Certificates are given by the Tahshildars
Implementation of the Scheme
For awareness and promotion of the scheme, the Tahasildars have been instructed to launch campaigns. From the 6.35 lakh candidates, 29 thousand families have been chosen under this scheme. Until March 2002, almost one million LPG connections have been given via the Deepam scheme along with the 1.2 million people in rural areas. The majority of people belong to self-help groups, and most women are below the poverty line. The total budget of the scheme is INR 3 Billion.
The Stakeholders under the Deepam Scheme
- Municipality Commissioner
- DSO
- Distributors
- Resident or Beneficiary
The procedure to obtain an LPG gas connection under the scheme has now been made easy. The new guidelines were issued by the Government. For the promotion of the scheme among people not having a non-LPG card, the system will be changed, and the Commissioner of civil supplies will regulate the scheme. According to the new guidelines, the collectors of the districts will now spot and update all the qualified cardholders who don't own the LPG connections based on the EPDS database. Plus, while choosing the beneficiaries, they must preserve the SC and ST percentage as per the reservation guidelines. If the people from SC and ST category surpass the fixed percentage, then their names will be added in the general category. People who don't have the LPG connection in the areas will be given more importance.
Advantages of the Scheme
- Less cooking time needed while preparing food, and it also saves valuable time as the people don't have to spend time collecting biomass.
- Better social status.
- Cleanliness in cooking.
- Less indoor pollution.
You can visit the official website to learn more about this scheme.
Q. What is the Deepam Scheme?
The state government of Andhra Pradesh introduced the Deepam Scheme for overcoming the monetary barriers. Under this scheme, the price subsidies are provided for households below the poverty line.
Q. When was it launched?
The Deepam Scheme was launched in July 1999.
Q. What is the main aim of the scheme?
The scheme's main aim is to provide LPG connections with subsidies to the women belonging from self-help groups and households below the poverty line.
Q. How is it different from other LPG subsidy schemes?
The Deepam scheme differs from other fuel subsidies for these two reasons (i) it is target based and (ii) it is a one-time capital subsidy in that it subsidizes LPG connection rather than LPG refills as with price subsidies.
Q. When LPG is used the most?
LPG was found to be most widely used during the monsoon season. The reasons for the higher usage of LPG during this season are the following:
- The agricultural season begins during the monsoon, making more cash available to agricultural laborers who earn regular wages;
- There is less time for biomass collection and cooking;
- Keeping biomass dry is difficult. The use of LPG was reported to be the lowest in summer.
Wood is still used more than any other fuel for cooking and is also the dominant fuel for heating water and other non-cooking purposes. The only exception is "other cooking," where LPG seems to have made an inroad.
Q. What are the advantages of LPG?
In terms of economic benefits, there was a near-universal consensus that savings in cooking time were the most significant aspect of LPG use. This was cited twice as many times as not having to spend time collecting biomass. Other reasons for using LPG included time made available for labor and the social status associated with LPG use. Focusing on the impact on actual cooking, cleanliness, lack of soot deposits on pots and pans, making clean-up easier was most important, and cited twice as frequently as the absence of smoke during cooking.
Q. How much LPG do beneficiaries consume?
LPG consumption was calculated based on when the cylinders were installed and the number of times refilled. The results, expressed in kilograms per month per household, are shown in Figure Average LPG consumption, which was 2.9 kg per month. An average refill rate was one every seven months, lower than what the focus groups reported. However, there was a marked difference between urban and rural households: urban households consumed, on average, 4.8 kg per month, whereas rural households consumed 2.6 kg per month.
Q. Who are the stakeholders for the scheme?
The stakeholders of the scheme are Municipality Commissioner, DSO, Distributors, and Resident or Beneficiary.