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The budget for a scheme aimed at providing clean fuel to poor families has been cut. The Union Budget 2026-2027 presented in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman includes a nearly 28 per cent reduction in the scheme’s budget, compared to last year’s revised estimates (RE).
According to the budget document, the actual budget for LPG connections for poor families in 2024-25 was Rs 12,700 crore. This was reduced to Rs 9,100 crore in the 2025-26 budget estimate (BE) but was revised to Rs 12,736 crore. However, the 2026-27 BE presented on February 1, 2026, again reduced it to Rs 9,200 crore, a decrease of approximately 28 per cent from the RE.
The scheme aims to support Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to shift from traditional and polluting fuels like kerosene, coal, firewood, cow dung and crop residue to cleaner ones.
Under this scheme, new LPG connections are provided to BPL families. Priority is given to states and regions where the scheme’s coverage has been low.
The subsidy on cooking gas was previously available to all families but was later discontinued in many states. Now, only poor families receive this subsidy.
In 2024-25, a subsidy of Rs 375 crore was directly transferred to household accounts, but the BE for 2025-26 was Rs 1,500 crore. Despite this, the subsidy was revised to Rs 1,000 crore, and now it has been increased again to Rs 1,500 crore. It remains to be seen how much further revisions will be made.
The PM Internship Scheme was allocated Rs 10,831.07 crore in the 2025-26 general budget but was later revised to only Rs 526.39 crore. The BE for 2026-28 now represents Rs 4,799.96 crore. While the RE represents a significant increase, it represents less than half of last year’s BE. This suggests that something is not going well with the scheme.
The Pradhan Mantri Internship Yojana was launched in Budget 2024-25. Its objective was to provide internship opportunities to 10 million youth over five years in the country’s top 500 companies and help them with practical work experience to enhance their employability.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development’s budget for 2025-26 was Rs 24,374 crore, which has been increased to Rs 28,183 crore (approximately 15.6 per cent) in the 2026-27 BE.
The ministry’s largest scheme is Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. Its allocation has been increased from Rs 20,949 crore to Rs 23,100 crore in the RE for 2025-26. This represents an increase of approximately Rs 2,150 crore (10.3 per cent). This constitutes approximately 82 per cent of the ministry’s total budget.
Another ministry scheme is Mission Vatsalya. This budget has been revised from Rs 1,100 crore in 2025-26 to Rs 1,550 crore in 2026-27, a sharp increase of Rs 450 crore, or approximately 40.9 per cent.
The central government has launched Mission Shakti for the safety and empowerment of women. Its budget has also been significantly increased. The RE for 2025-26 has increased from Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 3,200 crore in 2026-27, an increase of Rs 1,200 crore or approximately 60 per cent.
However, the RE for 2025-26 shows cuts in several schemes compared to the original budget, such as a reduction of Rs 400 crore in Mission Vatsalya, pointing to implementation constraints.