Unnat Chulha Abhiyan

Unnat Chulah Abhiyan (UCA) is a programme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.

Objectives

1. To develop and deploy improved biomass cook - stoves for providing cleaner cooking energy solutions in rural, semi - urban and urban areas using biomass as fuel for cooking.
2. To mitigate drudgery of women and children using traditional chulha for cooking.
3. To mitigate climate change by reducing the black carbon and other emissions resulting from burning biomass for cooking.

Activities

1. To support R&D activities on development of efficient and cost effective designs of biomass cook-stoves with reduced emissions.
2. To provide support for Test Centres for carrying out performance testing of biomass cook-stoves as per BIS.
3. Development of revised test protocols and standards.
4. To take up a series of projects using existing commercially available and better chulhas and different grades of process biomass fuel with ultimate aim exploring a range of technologies deployment biomass processing and delivery model s leveraging public-private partnerships.
5. To support awareness and marketing campaigns and creating enabling environment for mass production of processed biomass fuel, network of dealers, entrepreneurs training and supply chain mechanism.
6. Supporting training to manpower facilitating operation and maintenance networks at local level thus generating opportunities for employment.
7. Taking up dissemination programme on family type and large size Unnat Chulhas/cook-stoves for cooking applications.
8. Awareness for use of biomass cookstove in target groups.

Target Users

• Kitchens of Mid-day Meal (MDM) scheme, Anganwadis, Forest Rest Houses, Tribal Hostels and small business establishments (road side dhabas, small hotels and restaurants and a variety of cottage industries like textile dyeing, drying of spices etc.) to be supplied with improved biomass cook-stoves unnat chulhas complying with improved standards.
• Individual households in rural areas who use biomass for cooking purposes.

Central Financial Assistance for Natural Draft Cookstoves (including earthen chulhas with metal combustion chambers)

1. Upto 50% of cost of cook-stoves with maximum ceiling of Rs.400 for natural draft (including earthen chulhas with metal combustion chambers) and Rs.800 for forced draft-average support taken at Rs.600/- per cookstove.014-15
2. Upto 40% of cost of cookstoves with maximum ceiling of Rs.300 for natural draft cookstoves (including earthen chulhas with metal combustion chambers) and Rs.600 for forced draft cookstoves, average support taken Rs.450 for the years 2015-16 and 2016-17.
3. The masons doing the construction of earthen chulhas will be provided construction fee @10% per chulha which will added the overall cost of the earthen chulha. The NGO/CSO doing the construction will pass on this charge to the mason and keep accounts.

Approved Models of Cook-stoves

Natural draft and forced draft models of single part metallic and metal plate ceramic (ceramic composite/ industrial insulating materials) cook-stoves have been developed and are being manufactured in the country. Some of the models have been approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on the basis of their performance testing conducted by Improved Cook-stove Test Centres and satisfying stipulated performance parameters.

To access the list of approved cookstove models supplied by respective manufacturers, click here

Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy