Moily okays appointment of 2,794 new LPG distributors
16 Aug 2013 10:30 PM GMT
With a view to expand coverage of cooking gas, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has sanctioned appointment of nearly 2,800 new LPG distributors across the country.
The Oil Ministry had in January put on hold appointment of new LPG agencies/distributors pending approval of new marketing discipline guidelines (MDG).
‘The minister on Wednesday approved setting up of 2,794 new distributors and the new MDG,’ an official said.
Moily also approved raising the existing ceiling of refills a LPG distributor can sell by 10 per cent. Currently, a distributor is entitled to 15,000 refill every month in cities with more than 40 lakh population. The limit is 12,000 cylinders of 14.2-kg each for cities with 22 lakh to 40 lakh population and 10,000 for towns with 10 to 20 lakh population. For towns or cities with less than 10 lakh population, the refill limit is 8,000 every month.
The official said these limits have now been raised by 10 per cent.Following the approval of new MDG, oil companies will issue fresh advertisments for appointment of 2,794 LPG distributors across the country, the official said.
The three state-owned oil firms--Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp-- together have about 13,000 LPG sales agencies or distributors currently.
The 2,794 new distributors to be appointed would be besides the planned expansion under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana, under which small agencies are being appointed to cater to rural demand.Apart from fanning into new and underserved markets, the plan approved involves redistribution of the customer base of some of the existing distributors. The latter was to ensure that they handled customers only up to their ceiling limit, which is prescribed in terms of the number of monthly refill sales.
The Oil Ministry had in January put on hold appointment of new LPG agencies/distributors pending approval of new marketing discipline guidelines (MDG).
‘The minister on Wednesday approved setting up of 2,794 new distributors and the new MDG,’ an official said.
Moily also approved raising the existing ceiling of refills a LPG distributor can sell by 10 per cent. Currently, a distributor is entitled to 15,000 refill every month in cities with more than 40 lakh population. The limit is 12,000 cylinders of 14.2-kg each for cities with 22 lakh to 40 lakh population and 10,000 for towns with 10 to 20 lakh population. For towns or cities with less than 10 lakh population, the refill limit is 8,000 every month.
The official said these limits have now been raised by 10 per cent.Following the approval of new MDG, oil companies will issue fresh advertisments for appointment of 2,794 LPG distributors across the country, the official said.
The three state-owned oil firms--Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp-- together have about 13,000 LPG sales agencies or distributors currently.
The 2,794 new distributors to be appointed would be besides the planned expansion under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana, under which small agencies are being appointed to cater to rural demand.Apart from fanning into new and underserved markets, the plan approved involves redistribution of the customer base of some of the existing distributors. The latter was to ensure that they handled customers only up to their ceiling limit, which is prescribed in terms of the number of monthly refill sales.
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