OREANDA-NEWS. The Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today that National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has informed that  as per Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) conducted during NSS 68th Round, approximately 48% of the population  in the 0-30% percentile class of HPCE (Monthly Per Capita Expenditure) is using kerosene for lighting purpose.NSSO does not define population  as BPL and APL and information on whether kerosene is subsidized  or not also not available with NSSO.                                                              

Ministry of Power has informed that the progress of erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) is generally satisfactory. The Plan-wise coverage and achievement in release of free electricity connections to BPL households under the scheme is as under :

Five Year Plan

Coverage

Achievement

Percentage

X Plan

76,88,642

75,94,023

99%

XI Plan

1,87,20,174

1,42,35,022

76%

Expansion of electrification services automatically reduces the demand of kerosene for lighting purposes.

At present, there is no such proposal under consideration of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to restrict subsidies on kerosene only to unelectrified households.