The government has renamed its new scheme for increasing usage of cooking gas (LPG) in rural India after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and decided to launch it on his birth anniversary on August 20.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora this afternoon briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen LPG Vitrak Yojana that seeks to increase domestic cooking gas coverage to 75 per cent of the population by 2015, official sources said.
At present, 10.57 crore connections cover about 50 per cent of the population. It is proposed to increase the number of connections to 16 crore by 2015.
Deora told the Prime Minister that the pace of new enrollments would be increased from present 50-60 lakh per year to about 1 crore every year over the next six years.
Under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen LPG Vitrak Yojana, LPG distributors would be appointed in rural areas with potential of 600 or more refills per month. Youth in the age group of 21-45 years would be appointed as distributors under the scheme, sources said.
In the first instance, about 1,000 locations would be advertised in under-served states like Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh on August 20.
Sources said Deora also briefed the Prime Minister about the National Gas Grid that will connect natural gas sources with consumption centres across the country.
