Govt approves revision in fuel retailing policy

The government has approved changes to the fuel retailing policy in India, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on October 23.

Marketing and transportation of fuel will now be open to new players.

Javadekar said the opening up the fuel retailing will increase investment and competition.

A company will need to have a minimum net worth of Rs 250 crore to obtain permission for fuel retail outlet, the Cabinet has proposed.

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5 percent of the fuel retail outlets will have to be set up in remote areas within two years of a company receiving authorisation.

An upfront payment of Rs 3 crore will be required as a bank guarantee for establishing fuel retail outlets in rural areas.

The Oil Ministry had constituted a committee in October 2018 for deliberation existing fuel retail guidelines.

At present, to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India, a company needs to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

State-owned oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) - currently own most of 65,000 petrol pumps in the country.

(With inputs from PTI)