MC Explains: What are Indian Oil’s Chotu and Munna?

The cylinders were meant mainly for the economically weaker sections

Indian Oil is all set to launch Munna, after the success of Chotu, in the north-eastern region, a company official has said. Chotu and Munna are Indian Oil’s smaller LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders, with 5 kg and 2 kg capacity, respectively.

We look at the reasons for launching these LPG cylinders in the North-East and their prices, compared to the standard cylinders of 14.2 kg.

Chotu was launched in the north-East in 2020. Munna is already available in the rest of India.

Why are Munna and Chotu being launched?

Chotu was launched in 2020. The company said the smaller-capacity LPG cylinders would be particularly helpful for people in the North-East as the cylinders would be easy to carry in hilly areas.

The smaller cylinders, which were available in the rest of India, would now be accessible for people in the North-East.

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Compared to the standard 14.2 kg cylinders, Chotu and Munna offer affordability, safety, portability, wide availability and hassle-free documentation.

The company said that the response for Chotu has been good in the North-East, with about 60,000-65,000 units sold last fiscal and another 15,000 units in the first quarter of the current financial year.

Indian Oil currently has 871 LPG distributorships in the North East with an active customer base of 91 lakh, out of the total LPG customer base of 1.12 crore in the region. This is approximately 81 percent of the total LPG connections covering the highest market share of 87 percent in the seven states of Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Tripura.

When were the smaller cylinders launched?

Indian Oil christened its 5 kg cylinder as Chotu in 2020, saying that would make it easier for customers to place orders. IndianOil had first rolled out the 5 kg cylinders in 2014.

The lightweight LPG cylinders were launched with the migrant population in urban and semi-urban areas who do not have address proof, and people with lower gas consumption and commercial establishments with limited space as the target.

The cylinders were meant mainly for the economically weaker sections such as small street vendors, labourers, fishermen, lorry drivers, street ironing shops, caterers and students with small LPG consumption.

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To obtain a cylinder, a customer needs to only submit an ID proof copy. Proof of address (POA) is not required to get the cylinders. Also, no security deposit is required for purchase of Chhotu gas cylinder.

How different is the pricing?

The per-kg price of Munna is almost the same as the regular domestic cylinder, while the non-domestic Chotu (free-trade LPG cylinder) is a little higher. In Delhi, Chotu, or the 5kg cylinder, costs Rs 405, compared to Rs 1,103 of the standard 14.2 kg cylinder.

What are other OMCs doing?

Other oil marketing companies (OMCs), including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), also offer similar smaller-capacity LPG cylinders across India.

Both HPCL and BPCL offer 5kg cylinders for its customers with HPCL’s 5kg cylinder named as Appu.