In a major move ahead of the festive season, the Delhi Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has approved a ₹300 crore budget to provide free LPG cylinders to households in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). This initiative fulfills a key 100-day priority promise from the BJP’s 2025 election manifesto.
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Starting this Holi (March 2026), over 17.18 lakh ration card holders in the capital are set to benefit from this welfare measure.
1. How the “Free” System Works (Cash-Back via DBT)
Unlike traditional distribution schemes, the Delhi government will not physically hand out cylinders. Instead, they are using the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism to ensure transparency and stop black-marketing.
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Purchase: The beneficiary buys an LPG cylinder from their regular, government-approved distributor at the market price (approx. ₹850 as of Jan 2026).
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Verification: The purchase is recorded against the Aadhaar-linked ration card.
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Refund: The government automatically transfers the full cost of the cylinder back into the beneficiary’s Aadhaar-linked bank account.
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Alert: An SMS notification is sent to the registered mobile number once the refund is credited.
2. Eligibility & Application Criteria
There is no separate application form required for this scheme. The government is using existing databases to identify recipients.
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Target Group: All EWS category residents of Delhi.
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Document Required: A valid Ration Card registered in Delhi.
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Mandatory Link: Your bank account must be seeded with your Aadhaar number to receive the DBT refund.
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Frequency: One free cylinder for Holi and one for Diwali every year.
3. Upcoming: The ₹500 Subsidized Cylinder
While the “Festive Free Cylinder” is ready for launch, the government is also working on a second promise: providing LPG cylinders at a flat rate of ₹500 for poor families for the rest of the year.
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Status: Under development…
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Next Step: The administration is currently updating the data of eligible women candidates to prevent duplication with other central schemes like Ujjwala 2.0.
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