Lok Sabha Question No. 1168 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-07
Subject: LPG Customer Services
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL, BALASUBRAMANIAM SENGUTTUVAN, GOPALAKRISHNAN CHINNARAJ, PARASURAMAN K., DILIP KUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1168 TO BE ANSWERED ON 7 TH  DECEMBER, 2015

## LPG CUSTOMER SERVICES

1168.  SHRI SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL: SHRI B. SENGUTTUVAN: DR. C. GOPALAKRISHNAN: SHRI K. PARASURAMAN: SHRI DILIPKUMAR MANSUKHLAL GANDHI:

## पेट्रोलियम एवं प्राक ृ लिक गैस मंत्री

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state

- (a) whether the system of booking on customer service centre/mobile booking system is on the  verge  of  collapse  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken  in  this  regard, State/UT/Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs)-wise;
- (b) the efforts made by the Government to provide efficient customers service on each LPG outlets across the country, State/ UT/OMC-wise;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  sell  2-5  kg  LPG  cylinders  to  the  various households across the country;
- (d) if so, the eligibility criteria fixed by the Government and the steps taken to popularise the use of such cylinders in the country along with the fund allocated for the purpose and the time by which the said proposal be implemented, State/UT/OMC-wise;
- (e) the details of the LPG consumers linked their Aadhaar cards to their bank accounts and the  National  Payments  Corporation  of  India  has  identified  the  Bank  Account  of  all consumers of Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL), State/UT/ OMC-wise including Tamil Nadu;
- (f) whether the Government has fixed criteria to obtain the benefit of DBTL through Aadhaar Card  only  resulting  deprived  of  the  DBTL  benefit  to  some  of  them  and  if  so,  the  details thereof along with  other  mode  of  DBTL  beneficiary  has  been  worked  out  by  the Government; and
- (g) whether the Government proposes online booking facility to refill of LPG cylinders and if so, the details thereof, State/ UT/OMC-wise?

## ANSWER

पेट्रोलियम एवं प्राक ृ लिक गैस मंत्रािय में राज्य मंत्री (स्विंत्र प्रभार) (श्री धमेन्द्र प्रधान)

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a)  Public  Sector  Oil  Marketing  Companies  (OMCs)  have  reported  that  Interactive  Voice Response System (IVRS)/ Short Message Services(SMS) refill booking system is working satisfactorily  since  inception.  Presently,  more  than  65  %  of  refill  bookings  are  received through IVRS system without any manual intervention of the distributors or their staff.

(b) Some of the initiatives undertaken to provide efficient service to LPG customers are :-

-  Unique toll free number 18002333555 is in operation for complaint registration through call centers, on industry basis, to have a convenient, easy and effective way to enable the customer to air their complaints,.
-  Know Your Customer (KYC) initiative for all new connections/multiple connections/transferred/inactive  customers  so  that  customers  with  proper  identity  and address proof are enrolled at distributors.
-  SAHAJ-  a  online  new  connection  request  with  online  payment  facility  having  tracking options.
-  Transparency Portal wherein the customer can see the consumption pattern of refills, can lodge complaints and also rate the performance of his distributor.
-  Rating of distributors on the website based on the delivery pattern.
-  Detail of customer service cell and concerned officer (Name, Tel. No.) looking after the distributor  operations  are  displayed  in  the showroom  of  the  distributors. Periodic advertisements to this effect are also published in leading dailies.
-  Intra  &  Intercompany  Connection  Portability,  which  empowers  customers  to  change dealer at their choice, if they are not satisfied with the service.

(c ) & (d)  Government has allowed the sale of 5 Kg LPG cylinders with / without Domestic Pressure Regulator (DPR) through Retail Outlets of Public Sector Oil Marketing companies (OMCs) which are accessible to all and are open for longer hours. Subsequently, sale of 5 Kg  Free  Trade  LPG(FTL)  cylinder  has  been  extended  to  LPG  distributorship  points  and Kirana  /General  stores  etc  also  for  the  convenience  of  the  target  consumers.  As  on 31.10.2015, the scheme is under operation from 261 retail outlets, 484 distributorship points and 194 Kirana/general stores, on industry basis.

(e) & (f) LPG consumers who join the PAHAL scheme, get the LPG cylinders at market price and receive LPG subsidy (as per their entitlement) directly into their bank accounts.  To join PAHAL, all domestic LPG consumers have been given two alternatives in the scheme.  If LPG consumer has Aadhaar number, he/ she requires to link it to his/ her LPG consumer ID and bank account.  Alternatively, he/ she can link his bank account directly to his/her LPG consumer ID.  As on 02.12.2015, 14.62. crore have joined the PAHAL Scheme.

State/UT wise details of LPG consumers including for the State of Tamil Nadu, joined the PAHAL scheme as on 02.12.2015 is at Annexure - I .

(g) LPG customers have the facility to book their refill booking by web through www.mylpg.in or www.indane.co.in/ebharatgas.com/hpgas.com from their registered login. By this facility, customer can get the status of their booked refills through SMS and e-mails. State/UT wise list of distributors having online refill booking facility  is at Annexure-II.

- ---------

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in part (e) of the reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1168 for 07.12.2015 regarding LPG Consumer Services.

| State Name                  | No. of LPG Consumers   | LPG Aadhaar Seeding   | Bank Aadhaar Seeding (ATC)   | Bank Account Seeding (BTC)   | CTC        |
|-----------------------------|------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------|------------|
|                             | 02-12-2015             | 02-12-2015            | 02-12-2015                   | 02-12-2015                   | 02-12-2015 |
| Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands | 70874                  | 32224                 | 29455                        | 27497                        | 56952      |
| Andhra_Pradesh              | 10083480               | 9539068               | 8805667                      | 505184                       | 9310851    |
| Arunachal_Pradesh           | 192199                 | 2735                  | 994                          | 152010                       | 153004     |
| Assam                       | 2960721                | 8994                  | 5895                         | 2579060                      | 2584955    |
| Bihar                       | 6460254                | 1131678               | 774009                       | 4993797                      | 5767806    |
| Chandigarh1                 | 262219                 | 226445                | 205507                       | 29811                        | 235318     |
| Chhattisgarh                | 1873457                | 1057352               | 881595                       | 755468                       | 1637063    |
| Dadra_and_Nagar_Haveli1     | 68136                  | 33281                 | 30678                        | 28211                        | 58889      |
| Daman_and_Diu               | 60399                  | 43087                 | 36558                        | 15853                        | 52411      |
| Delhi                       | 4716140                | 3306336               | 2875056                      | 826710                       | 3701766    |
| Goa                         | 429894                 | 370530                | 356599                       | 27655                        | 384254     |
| Gujarat                     | 6616527                | 3769832               | 3256497                      | 2635480                      | 5891977    |
| Haryana                     | 4711785                | 3576488               | 3175344                      | 955520                       | 4130864    |
| Himachal_Pradesh            | 1292848                | 1185163               | 1118896                      | 34717                        | 1153613    |
| Jammu_and_Kashmir           | 1662909                | 151919                | 83776                        | 1232899                      | 1316675    |
| Jharkhand                   | 1833007                | 1243248               | 1041326                      | 562271                       | 1603597    |
| Karnataka                   | 10324307               | 7057511               | 6029396                      | 3347490                      | 9376886    |
| Kerala                      | 7747615                | 6914509               | 6596610                      | 403054                       | 6999664    |
| Lakshadweep1                | 3920                   | 3560                  | 3299                         | 448                          | 3747       |
| Madhya_Pradesh              | 6780059                | 4314102               | 3543154                      | 2578431                      | 6121585    |
| Maharashtra                 | 19470149               | 13935234              | 11284396                     | 5977696                      | 17262092   |
| Manipur                     | 325331                 | 80018                 | 46996                        | 220777                       | 267773     |
| Meghalaya                   | 135745                 | 1110                  | 849                          | 117710                       | 118559     |
| Mizoram                     | 260775                 | 510                   | 186                          | 186081                       | 186267     |
| Nagaland                    | 184786                 | 19720                 | 14343                        | 111055                       | 125398     |
| Odisha                      | 3045035                | 1452759               | 1241687                      | 1480720                      | 2722407    |
| Puducherry1                 | 327200                 | 298082                | 284855                       | 20176                        | 305031     |
| Punjab                      | 6030184                | 5197498               | 4758742                      | 665137                       | 5423879    |
| Rajasthan                   | 8505354                | 4627370               | 3847159                      | 3890609                      | 7737768    |
| Sikkim                      | 115376                 | 98680                 | 87929                        | 14671                        | 102600     |
| Tamil_Nadu                  | 16091010               | 9713473               | 8481222                      | 6452597                      | 14933819   |
| Telangana                   | 8017416                | 7275911               | 6642775                      | 436372                       | 7079147    |
| Tripura                     | 394714                 | 328037                | 313262                       | 54895                        | 368157     |
| Uttar_Pradesh               | 19409316               | 7141758               | 5693997                      | 11807665                     | 17501662   |
| Uttarakhand                 | 1881820                | 579018                | 490733                       | 1183364                      | 1674097    |
| West_Bengal                 | 10675174               | 5384702               | 4766183                      | 5099711                      | 9865894    |

Annexure-II

## Annexure referred to in part (g) of the reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1168 for 07.12.2015 regarding LPG Consumer Services.

|                     | No of distributors provided with Online refill booking facility   | No of distributors provided with Online refill booking facility   | No of distributors provided with Online refill booking facility   | No of distributors provided with Online refill booking facility   |
|---------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| STATE/UT            | IOC                                                               | BPC                                                               | HPC                                                               | OMC                                                               |
| Andaman& Nicobar    | 3                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 3                                                                 |
| Andhra Pradesh      | 281                                                               | 200                                                               | 270                                                               | 751                                                               |
| Arunachal Pradesh   | 41                                                                | 1                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 42                                                                |
| Assam               | 281                                                               | 46                                                                | 24                                                                | 351                                                               |
| Bihar               | 495                                                               | 255                                                               | 243                                                               | 993                                                               |
| Chandigarh          | 15                                                                | 4                                                                 | 5                                                                 | 24                                                                |
| Chattisgarh         | 145                                                               | 72                                                                | 111                                                               | 328                                                               |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 2                                                                 | 2                                                                 |
| Daman &Diu          | 0                                                                 | 1                                                                 | 2                                                                 | 3                                                                 |
| Delhi               | 186                                                               | 77                                                                | 48                                                                | 311                                                               |
| Goa                 | 4                                                                 | 17                                                                | 29                                                                | 50                                                                |
| Gujarat             | 333                                                               | 162                                                               | 164                                                               | 659                                                               |
| Haryana             | 190                                                               | 118                                                               | 76                                                                | 384                                                               |
| Himachal Pradesh    | 114                                                               | 16                                                                | 17                                                                | 147                                                               |
| Jammu &Kashmir      | 58                                                                | 26                                                                | 76                                                                | 160                                                               |
| Jharkhand           | 206                                                               | 77                                                                | 88                                                                | 371                                                               |
| Karnataka           | 360                                                               | 223                                                               | 264                                                               | 847                                                               |
| Kerala              | 265                                                               | 162                                                               | 115                                                               | 542                                                               |
| Lakshadweep         | 1                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 1                                                                 |
| Madhya Pradesh      | 533                                                               | 287                                                               | 302                                                               | 1122                                                              |
| Maharashtra         | 333                                                               | 655                                                               | 616                                                               | 1604                                                              |
| Manipur             | 61                                                                | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 61                                                                |
| Meghalaya           | 27                                                                | 3                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 30                                                                |
| Mizoram             | 48                                                                | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 48                                                                |
| Nagaland            | 42                                                                | 5                                                                 | 1                                                                 | 48                                                                |
| Odisha              | 210                                                               | 117                                                               | 188                                                               | 515                                                               |
| Pondicherry         | 10                                                                | 6                                                                 | 7                                                                 | 23                                                                |
| Punjab              | 309                                                               | 169                                                               | 133                                                               | 611                                                               |
| Rajasthan           | 405                                                               | 241                                                               | 270                                                               | 916                                                               |
| Sikkim              | 12                                                                | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 12                                                                |
| Tamilnadu           | 588                                                               | 278                                                               | 216                                                               | 1082                                                              |
| Telanagana          | 244                                                               | 176                                                               | 171                                                               | 591                                                               |
| Tripura             | 50                                                                | 0                                                                 | 0                                                                 | 50                                                                |
| Uttar Pradesh       | 1290                                                              | 731                                                               | 513                                                               | 2534                                                              |
| Uttranchal          | 130                                                               | 49                                                                | 22                                                                | 201                                                               |
| West Bengal         | 474                                                               | 153                                                               | 179                                                               | 806                                                               |
| All India           | 7744                                                              | 4327                                                              | 4152                                                              | 16223                                                             |