The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to give one time grant amounting to Rs.22,000 crore to three Public Sector Undertaking Oil Marketing Companies (PSU OMCs). The grant will be distributed among Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).
The approval will help the PSU OMCs to continue their commitment to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, ensuring unhindered domestic LPG supplies and also supporting the procurement of Make in India products.
Domestic LPG Cylinders are supplied at regulated prices to consumers by the public sector Oil Marketing companies namely, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL.
During the period from June 2020 to June 2022, the international prices of LPG increased by around 300%. However, to insulate consumers from fluctuations in international LPG prices, the cost increase was not fully passed on to consumers of domestic LPG. Accordingly, domestic LPG prices have raised by only 72% during this period. This has led to significant losses for these OMCs.
Despite these losses, the three PSU OMCs have ensured continuous supplies of this essential cooking fuel in the country.