Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily launched the 5-kg LPG cylinder scheme, on a pilot basis, in four metros, and inter-company LPG portability in 24 cities across the country here on Saturday.
Speaking after the launch, Mr. Moily said the Vijay Kelkar Committee, appointed by the Ministry, was preparing a road map to make India self-sufficient in oil and natural gas by 2030.
“Be it our government or that of the National Democratic Alliance, the road map would be in place by the desired time.”
The Ministry had already started work on setting up an oil refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan, where huge oil and natural gas reserves had been found. The Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was setting up the refinery.
The 5-kg cylinders would initially be sold through selected company-owned and company-operated (COCO) outlets of public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) in 11 places — three in Bangalore, two in Mumbai, three in Kolkata and three in Chennai.
Moily bats for private entrepreneurs
Meanwhile, Mr Moily said private entrepreneurs would not make huge profits. If they earned one billion rupees, about 700 million came to the government. “The profit earned is too meagre,” he said. “Everyone thinks that private entrepreneurs are here to make profits, it is not so,” the Minister said.
