New Delhi, May 5 (IANS): Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said over two crore LPG connections have been provided to women below the poverty line (BPL) under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana (PMUY).

"Under the scheme, which took off on May 1, 2016, we had a target of providing LPG connections to 5 crore BPL women within three years. In the first year the target was 1.5 crore. Today it has completed the target of 2.2 crore," Pradhan told a press conference here.

The minister said apart from LPG connections under the Ujjwala scheme, around 1.25 crore connections were provided to households living above the poverty line.

Pradhan said in the past three years (after 2014 when the Modi government came to power), there have been 6 crore new LPG connections with a growth rate of 10 per cent.

"In last three years, there was a growth of 10 per cent in LPG connections. Around 72 per cent of households have LPG connections today."

Pradhan added that around 4,600 new LPG distributors have been recruited under the PMUY scheme.