Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi has said that about 10 crore 33 lakh free LPG connections were given to beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana across the country. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today, Mr Gopi said that the scheme was launched in 2016 to provide deposit free LPG connection to women from poor households. He said, the government has recently approved the release of 25 lakh additional LPG connections during 2025-26. The Minister said, the scheme had resulted in a shift from traditional cooking methods that involve burning solid fuels like wood, dung and crop residue.