Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the Rs 8,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, under which five crore women below poverty line would be provided free cooking gas connections. This scheme will benefit poor families and, particularly, poor women, Modi said, while addressing a gathering in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. "Schemes must be made for the welfare of the poor not keeping in mind considerations of the ballot box," he added.

Modi further brought up his own childhood in a house where cooking gas wasn't available. "I was born in a very small house, there were no windows. When my mother used to cook food on firewood, sometimes there used to be such thick smoke that we wouldn't even be able to see our mother as she served food. This is why I can completely understand the pain of mothers and their children. I've gone through that," he said, as reported by ANI.

Modi is also scheduled to visit Varanasi on Sunday to distribute 1,100 e-rickshaws among beneficiaries. He will then head to the Assi Ghat on the river Ganga to launch 11 solar-powered boats, also known as e-boats or eco-boats, which are aimed at reducing pollution levels in the water body, reported PTI. This will be the third time since January this year that Modi will visit his parliamentary constituency.