- Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India upholds the role of PMUY amongst underprivileged population
New Delhi:Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) organised a webinar on ‘Ease of Living’ as a part of webinar series on Good Governance. Mr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India was the chief guest of the event while Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Secretary MoPNG, delivered the welcome address.
Setting the tone for the webinar, Mr. Tarun Kapoor, Secretary,MoP&NG enumerated the policy changesin the fuel retailing and LPG distribution that have ensured easy energy access to various strata of society. He said, “We have introducedvarious initiatives such as PAHAL, Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana, LPG portability, to name a few. We also periodically review the processesfor getting a new LPG connection or a refill andintroduce digital solutions accordingly. Similarly, atRetail Outlets, a customercan avail a fuel of their choice – be it CNG, EV charging or bio-fuel.”
Clean cooking fuel being one of the indicators in Bare Necessities Index, access to LPG is being monitored for economic development of the nation. Appreciating the reforms in the energy sector, Mr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser to Government of India said, “To ensure Ease of Living, underprivileged citizens must have access to necessities. The energy sector has brought in various policy reforms to cater to all energy needs. With focus on ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’, we are hopefulof enhanced income for the underprivileged that will help them access necessitiessuch as healthcare, education, andenergy for inclusive social &economic growth of the country.”
The webinar also had a panel discussion by academicians Professor SN Tripathi, IIT Kanpur; Mr. Ajay Shankar, Distinguished Fellow (TERI); and Professor FarzanaAfridi, Indian Statistical Institute. The panelists lauded the effort of MoP&NG for the effective implementation of the PAHAL scheme and hailedPMUY as a social investment scheme. They highlighted their research and surveys about PMUYand shared their findings on how ithas bettered the lives of rural women by improving their health and giving them time to engage in financially fruitful activities.
Mr. Kushagra Mittal, Deputy Secretary (LPG), MoP&NG, discussed the challenges faced in the PMUY journey. He also shared how at every step, the documentation requirement for getting a new gas connection was eased to ensure LPG is accessible to all.
The webinar concluded with sharing of experiencesby senior executives from Oil Marketing Companies on how reforms have led to accountability, enhanced competition, improved service levels and reduction in customer grievances. Mr. Anuj Kumar Jain, Executive Director (LPG), HPCL; Mr. Santosh Kumar, Executive Director (LPG), BPCL; and Mr. Lakshminarayan, CGM (LPG- Sales), IndianOil, participated in the panel discussion.
