E-Paper
Amid Covid-19 lockdown, IOC to transfer Rs 2,780 crore in bank accounts of 37 mn LPG beneficiaries
IOC has advised its distributors to give priority refill deliveries to customers getting subsidised gas cylinders under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)who are entitled to three free refills during the months April, May and June this year.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will transfer Rs 2,780 crore in the bank accounts of 37 million customers by Saturday so that they can get the first cooking gas cylinder free of cost as announced by the government last month, it said in a statement on Thursday.
It has also decided to import 50% more liquefied natural gas (LPG) in April and May to ensure uninterrupted cooking gas supply to its customers as the company is expecting additional demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
IOC has advised its distributors to give priority refill deliveries to customers getting subsidised gas cylinders under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for whom the government has announced three refills free of cost during the months April, May and June this year.
“As part of this, the Corporation has already initiated the transfer of the RSP [retail selling price] for the first LPG refill to the bank accounts linked by its PMUY customers for direct subsidy payments. Accordingly, a total amount of over Rs 2,780 crore is being transferred to the bank accounts of about 3.7 crore PMUY customers, and the process is likely to be completed in the next two days.
At the time of refill delivery, a beneficiary of subsidised gas cylinder is required to pay the full market price for the refill to the delivery boy for which the person gets the subsidy amount in her bank account in advance. “PMUY customers who have taken delivery of a refill in April prior to the transfer of money in their bank accounts will also be eligible to book for a free refill after 15 days’ gap,” it said.
In view of Covid-19 lockdown, the LPG distributors will not insist upon hard copy of any document required from the PMUY customers, the company said.
“The required documents can be captured digitally and hard copies submitted after the lockdown is lifted for maintenance of proper records,” it added.
IOC said it has also tied up additional imports of the product for April and May -- to the tune of about 50% over normal imports -- to ensure uninterrupted availability of bulk LPG for its bottling plants, it said.
The company, which is the biggest refiner and fuel retailer in the country, is taking steps to increase LPG output by optimising operations, it said.
“Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the supply points and the marketing network, Indian Oil could deliver more than 3.38 crore LPG cylinders to its customers in the last 15 days since lockdown, that is, 26 lakh cylinders every single working day,” the statement said.
IOC’s bottling plants too are working extended hours, operating night shifts and on public holidays to meet the growing demand.
The company appealed to its customers not to resort to panic-booking or visit the showrooms and godowns of their distributorships for obtaining refills and book cylinders through digital modes.
