This study investigates the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), India’s 2016 initiative to expand liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) access, focusing on promoting clean cooking fuel and enhancing women’s health and empowerment. Using data from the National Sample Survey (NSS), 2020–2021, and the field survey in West Champaran district, Bihar, the research explores household fuel selection patterns ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’ through multivariate logistic regression. Findings indicate that household income, education and gender of the household head are critical determinants of LPG adoption. Moreover, increased LPG usage positively affects women’s health and empowerment. The study suggests that boosting LPG adoption should primarily address educational and affordability-related factors.
AggarwalS., KumarS., & TiwariM. K. (2018). Decision support system for Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana. Energy Policy, 118, 455–461.
2.
AjzenI. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2).
3.
BanduraA. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall.
4.
BehraB., RahutD. B., JeetendraA., & AliA. (2015). Household collection and use of biomass energy sources in South Asia. Energy for Sustainable Development, 85, 468–480.
5.
BhojvaidV., JeulandM., KarA., LewisJ. J., PatangeO., & PattanayakS. K. (2014). How do people in rural India perceive improved stoves and clean fuel? Evidence from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(2), 1341–1358.
6.
CabiyoB., RayI., & LevineD. I. (2021). The refill gap: Clean cooking fuel adoption in rural India. Environmental Research Letters, 16(6), 064023.
7.
ChaliseN., KumarP., PriyadarshiniI., & NiuD. (2018). Dynamics of sustained use and abandonment of clean cooking systems: Lessons from rural India. Environmental Research Letters, 13(3), 035010.
8.
ChaudhuriS., & PfaffA. S. P. (2002). Economic growth and the environment: What can we learn from household data?(Working Paper No. 0102-51). Economics Department, Columbia University.
9.
ChoudhuriP., & DesaiS. (2020). Gender inequalities and household fuel choice in India. Journal of Cleaner Production, 265, 121487.
10.
CochranW. G. (1977). Sampling techniques (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
11.
DabarageA., SreenivasA., & JoseyA. (2018). What has the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana achieved so far?Economic & Political Weekly, 53(28), 35–43.
12.
DufloE., GreenstoneM., & HannaR. (2008). Cooking stoves, indoor air pollution and respiratory health in rural Orissa. Economic & Political Weekly, 43(32), 71–76.
13.
EkholmT., KreyV., PachauriS., & RiahiK. (2010). Determinants of household energy consumption in India. Energy Policy, 38(10), 5696–5707.
14.
FarsiM., FilippiniM., & PachauriS. (2007). Fuel choices in urban Indian households. Environment and Development Economics, 12(6), 757–774.
15.
GautamS. K., SureshR., SharmaV. P., & SehgalM. (2013). Indoor air quality in rural India. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 24(2), 244–255.
16.
Gill-WiehlA., RayI., & KammenD. (2021). Is clean cooking affordable? A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 145, 111064.
17.
GouldC. F., & UrpelainenJ. (2018). LPG as a clean cooking fuel: Adoption, use, and impact in rural India. Energy Policy, 122, 395–408.
18.
Health Effects Institute & Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (2020). State of global air 2020: A special report on global exposure to air pollution and its health impacts. Health Effects Institute.
19.
HeltbergR. (2005). Factors determining household fuel choice in Guatemala. Environment and Development Economics, 10(3), 337–361.
20.
IEA, IRENA, UNSD, WB, & WHO. (2019). Tracking SDG 7: The energy progress report.
21.
IsraelD. (2002). Fuel choice in developing countries: Evidence from Bolivia. Energy for Sustainable Development, 6(3), 45–53.
22.
JohnsonM. A., & ChiangR. A. (2015). Quantitative guidance for stove usage and performance to achieve health and environmental targets. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(8), 820–826.
23.
KarA., & ZerriffiH. (2018). From cookstove acquisition to cooking transition: Framing the behavioural aspects of cookstove interventions. Energy Research & Social Science, 42, 23–33.
24.
KarimuA. (2015). Cooking fuel preferences among Ghanaian households: An empirical analysis. Energy for Sustainable Development, 27, 10–17.
25.
KhandkerS. R., BarnesD. F., & SamadH. A. (2012). Are the energy poor also income poor? Evidence from India. Energy for Sustainable Development, 16(1), 54–63.
26.
KöhlinG. (2006). Preferences for domestic fuel: Analysis with socio-economic factors and rankings in Kolkata, India. Ecological Economics, 57(1), 107–121.
27.
KowsariR., & ZerriffiH. (2011). Three-dimensional energy profile: A conceptual framework for assessing household energy use. Energy Policy, 39(12), 7505–7517.
28.
KumarK., & ViswanathanB. (2007). Changing structure of income–indoor air pollution relationship in India. Energy Policy, 35(10), 5496–5504.
29.
LahotiR., SuchitraJ. Y., & SwaminathanH. (2012). Do LPG subsidies benefit the poor?Economic & Political Weekly, 47(41), 55–60.
30.
LaneghamD., & VandeplasA. (2017). The relationship between status and happiness: Evidence from the caste system in rural India(IZA Discussion Paper No. 11099). Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
31.
LeachG. (1992). The energy transition. Energy Policy, 20(2), 116–123.
32.
LewisJ. J., & PattanayakS. K. (2012). Who adopts improved fuels and cookstoves? A systematic review. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(5), 637–645.
33.
LindJ., GhirlandaS., & EnquistM. (2019). Social learning through associative processes: A computational theory. Royal Society Open Science, 6(3), 181777.
34.
MallR., & RaniS. (2020). Women’s satisfaction with Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). International Journal of Home Science, 6(1), 363–368.
35.
MensahA., & AduG. (2015). An empirical analysis of household energy choice in Ghana. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 51, 1402–1411.
36.
MillerG., & MobarakA. M. (2013). Gender differences in preferences, intra-household externalities, and low demand for improved cookstoves(National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 18964). https://doi.org/10.3386/w18964
37.
NITI Aayog. (2021). SDG India Index & Dashboard 2020-21: Partnerships in decade of action. Government of India.
38.
PantK. P. (2012). Cheaper fuel and higher health costs among the poor in rural Nepal. Ambio, 41(3), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-011-0189-6
39.
Parikh, Ganesh-KumarA., & DarbhaG. (2003). Growth and welfare consequences of rise in MSP. Economic & Political Weekly, 38(31), 3274–3279.
40.
PyeA., RonziS., Mbatchou NgahaneB. H., PuzzoloE., AshuA. H., & PopeD. (2020). Drivers of the adoption and exclusive use of clean fuel for cooking in sub-Saharan Africa: Learnings and policy considerations from Cameroon. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16), 5873.
41.
RahutD. B., BeheraB., & AliA. (2017). A ladder within a ladder: Understanding the factors influencing a household’s domestic use of electricity in four African countries. Energy for Sustainable Development, 36, 47–57.
42.
RaoM. N., & ReddyB. S. (2007). Variations in energy use by Indian households: An analysis of micro level data. Energy, 32(2), 143–153.
43.
SahuV., TripathiS. N., SutariaR., DumkaN., KotwalA., GhoshK., & SinghR. K. (2024). Assessment of a clean cooking fuel distribution scheme in rural households of India—“Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)”. Energy for Sustainable Development, 81, 101492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2024.101492
44.
SharmaA., ParikhJ., & SinghC. (2019). Transition to LPG for cooking: A case study from two states of India. Energy for Sustainable Development, 49, 18–27.
45.
SmithK. R., & MehtaS. (2000). The burden of disease from indoor air pollution in developing countries: Comparison of estimates(Background Paper for USAID/WHO Global Consultation).
46.
SmithK. R., & PillarisettiA. (2017). Household air pollution from solid cook fuels and its effects on health. In BaltussenB. H. (Ed.), Injury prevention and environmental health (3rd ed., pp. 133–152). The World Bank.
47.
SulimanK. M. (2013). Factors affecting the choice of households’ primary cooking fuel in Sudan. Economic Research Forum Working Paper Series.
48.
ThalerR. H., & SunsteinC. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. Penguin Books.
49.
TianZ., TianY., ShenL., & ShaoS. (2021). The health effect of household cooking fuel choice in China: An urban-rural gap perspective. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 120609.
50.
TripathiS. N., & SutariaR. (2023). Evaluation of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in six states of India. National Health Systems Resource Centre.
51.
UmapathyR., & SreeramuluD. (2019). A study on challenges, branding and implementation of Ujjwala Scheme. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 8(2), 52–59.
52.
ViswanathanB., & KumarK. S. K. (2005). Cooking fuel use patterns in India: 1983–2011. Energy Policy, 33(8), 1021–1036.
53.
WHO. (2018). Indoor smoke from solid fuels: Assessing the environmental burden of disease at national and local levels. World Health Organization.
54.
World Energy Outlook. (2017). Energy access outlook: From poverty to prosperity. International Energy Agency.
