The Hindu : Front Page : Radio frequency tags likely for LPG cylinders

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Saturday, Aug 23, 2008
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Radio frequency tags likely for LPG cylinders

Sujay Mehdudia

Move aimed at detecting black marketing
Trial runs held successfully

NEW DELHI: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry is exploring the possibility of implanting radio frequency tags on domestic LPG cylinders to detect diversion and black marketing, opposition from most State governments and distributors notwithstanding.

Top sources in the Ministry said the proposal had come up for discussion during a review meeting by the government with the oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Wednesday. Another proposal for issuing smart cards to consumers for buying the subsidised kerosene oil also came up for discussion. The OMCs were asked to work out the modalities.

Sources said all cylinders would be tagged with a unique number and consumers would be issued smart cards. Every time a refill was delivered, the unique number would be stored on the smart card. The OMCs who bottle the LPG can access this information, enabling them to ascertain that the cylinder had actually been delivered to a household.

The Chief Controller of Explosives (CCOE) had approved the proposal and the project would be implemented in phases from 2009, sources said.

The OMCs had already colour-differentiated domestic-use cylinders from those meant for non-domestic use.

The meeting discussed the issue of disconnecting LPG supply to households provided with Piped Natural Gas (PNG). A decision was expected soon.

Sources said Indian Oil Corporation Limited had conducted two successful trial runs for tagging LPG cylinders with radio frequency chips, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited carried out a trial run at its Pune plant. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited had done the same at its Nasik plant.

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