Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Modi's 'free cooking gas' leaves bitter taste for some Indians

Reena Devi says her life changed when she got a cooking gas connection under a billion-dollar programme championed by India's prime minister Narendra Modi, meaning she no longer has to cook with wood or coal and breathe in smelly, toxic fumes.

But the programme to connect millions of homes to gas, empower women and cut pollution -- designed as a key vote-winning policy for Modi -- has been beset by allegations of corruption and misuse.


Devi says she had to pay 3,000 rupees ($43) for the "free" kit -- the equivalent of a month's wages for most people in her village Nisarpura, in India's poorest state, Bihar.

"I pleaded with the officials that this is supposed to be free but they gave me two options: Pay and take the kit or forget it," Devi said, rolling out bread to be cooked on the stove.

Critics say the programme has been marred by bribes and corruption and that the poor households targeted by the scheme cannot afford to pay for gas refills, pushing those who have received new stoves back to traditional fuels.

But the prime minister, seeking a second term in India's marathon national election, has touted the cooking gas scheme a success as he campaigns around the country.

Batting away criticism, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government says more than 70 million poor households across India now have gas stoves.

- Unfinished meal -

Modi launched his "Ujjwala Yojana" ("bright scheme") in May 2016, and is aiming to connect 80 million rural households to gas by 2022.

Household pollution is a serious health hazard in India, with a World Health Organization (WHO) report saying that smoke inhaled by women from unclean fuel is a major cause of cancer, heart disease and strokes.

In a bid to move India towards clean energy, the scheme offers recipients a loan of 1,600 rupees ($23) that covers the cost of the stove, connection pipes, regulator and a gas canister.

The loan is supposed to be paid back through the purchase of subsidised gas refills.

In Nisarpura, Jamintra Devi applied for a connection but local officials would not give it unless she paid a bribe.

"We come back from work at midnight or 1:00am and then we have to cook on wood," said Devi, who is not related to Reena.

Some recipients say their kits have effectively been repossessed.

Shahjahan Khatoon, from an impoverished neighbourhood of the state capital, Patna, enrolled in the scheme in January 2018.

Two months later, officials distributing gas canisters came to her home looking for money.

She had already paid them 700 rupees ($10) to get the connection, but they demanded 4,000 rupees more -- far beyond her means.

"I told them that I don't have money. They removed the gas cylinder and stove and left," Khatoon told AFP.

"I was in the middle of cooking lunch and they didn't even let me finish the meal."

A senior member of Modi's ruling party also drew online ridicule this month after posting a video of himself with a family in eastern India -- which showed the family burning firewood under a traditional earth stove.

- Hot air -

The government set aside 80 billion rupees ($1.14 billion) when the scheme was launched to fund the gas connections which it said would "empower" women, and have since extended that to 120 billion rupees.

The red gas canisters are emblazoned with the slogan "respecting the dignity of women", and only women can qualify for the project.

In Bihar state alone, eight million people have received cooking gas connections, but a study by the Indian non-profit Research Institute for Compassionate Economics this month said 36 percent of households in four of India's largest states, including Bihar, still use traditional fuel.

Despite sometimes patchy success, the WHO last year praised the scheme, saying that in two years it had helped 37 million women living below the poverty line to move to clean energy.

But the pressure of fluctuating gas prices could force many poor Indians back towards using wood, coal or cow dung instead.

Sanjay Kumar, a gas canister distributor in Patna, has around 5,000 customers who have gas connections from Modi's programme.

But at least half stop buying refills and return to traditional fuel if prices rise even slightly, he said.

"Our country is still poor. Families in rural India still can't afford refills when the rates are high."

More For You

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

India declines UN investigator’s participation in Air India crash probe: Report

INDIA has declined a request from the United Nations aviation agency to allow one of its investigators to observe the probe into the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12, Reuters reported, citing two senior sources familiar with the matter.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had offered to provide assistance by sending one of its investigators, following the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner earlier this month. It was an unusual move, as ICAO typically deploys investigators only upon request from the country leading the investigation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Wintour

Wintour’s style of leadership earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”

Getty Images

Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years

Key points

  • Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after 37 years
  • She will remain Vogue’s global editorial director and hold senior roles at Condé Nast
  • Wintour transformed US Vogue into a global fashion authority
  • The 75-year-old has received numerous honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom

End of an era at US Vogue

Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor of US Vogue, bringing to a close a 37-year tenure that redefined the publication and saw her become one of the most influential figures in global fashion.

The announcement was made on Thursday (26 June) during a staff meeting in New York. Wintour, 75, will no longer oversee the day-to-day editorial operations of Vogue’s US edition. However, she will continue to serve as Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, maintaining senior leadership roles across the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

FILE PHOTO: A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

Post Office scandal trials 'unlikely before 2028'

THE people responsible for the Post Office Horizon scandal may not face trial until 2028, according to the senior police officer leading the investigation.

Commander Stephen Clayman has said that the process is taking longer because police are now looking at a wider group of people, not just those directly involved in decisions about the faulty Horizon computer system, reported the Telegraph.

Keep ReadingShow less