Gandhinagar,  The Gujarat government on Monday decided to give free LPG cylinders twice a year to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

The decision was announced by Education Minister Jitu Vaghani and Finance Minister Kanu Desai here.

Vaghani told media persons that there are 38 lakh beneficiaries under the scheme and the decision will save Rs 650 crore for poor families.

The moment a consumer gets one's cylinder refilled, immediately, the money will be transferred to the account, he said.

They also announced that the state government has decided cut VAT duty on piped natural gas (PNG), and compressed natural gas (CNG) by 10 per cent. There are 24.21 lakh PNG consumers in the state and 855 CNG stations.