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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL) have issued a big and important order for crores of domestic LPG consumers across the country. Changes in the rules for booking domestic LPG cylinders and government subsidies are going to be effective from October 1. Under the new rules, now only those consumers who have successfully completed their Biometric Aadhaar Authentication (BAA/e-KYC) process will be allowed to book a 14.2 kg cylinder with the regular retail selling price (RSP) and applicable subsidy.
The government clearly says that the purpose of this step is not to disconnect the gas connection of any genuine beneficiary, but to directly deliver the benefit of subsidy given from the government treasury to the right and eligible families.
According to official data from the Petroleum Ministry, as of September 19, about 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers (about 89.9 per cent) across the country have already completed their biometric authentication.
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Those who have done authentication: Those consumers do not need to do anything new. They will be able to continue booking subsidized cylinders as normal as before.
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Those who have not done authentication: After October 1, such consumers will not be able to book the subsidized 14.2 kg cylinder at the concessional rate unless they complete their e-KYC. Their subsidized bookings will resume immediately once authentication is completed.
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Those who do not want to undergo authentication: If a consumer does not want to do biometric authentication, he will have to enter this option by visiting the digital portal, app or IVRS of the oil companies. Such customers will be supplied 5 kg or 10 kg cylinders at market price without subsidy.
Domestic LPG cylinders are heavily subsidized by the government and oil marketing companies. The implicit subsidy on 14.2 kg domestic cylinder stood at around ₹210 per cylinder in September. The cumulative under-recovery of public sector oil companies on domestic LPG has reached more than ₹62,000 crore by the end of August.
In such a situation, this step has been taken to prevent misuse of subsidy:
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Elimination of fake and duplicate connections: To eliminate illegal and dual gas connections running on the same name or address from the system.
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Prohibition of commercial abuse: To protect cheap and subsidized cylinders available for domestic use from being illegally diverted to hotels, dhabas and industries.
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Targeted Subsidy Delivery: To make Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) 100% transparent in the bank accounts of middle class legitimate families.
For the convenience of consumers, oil companies have made the verification process extremely simple and multi-faceted, which can be completed in the following ways:
1. Sitting at home through mobile app (Self e-KYC):
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First of all download the official ‘AadhaarFaceRd’ app of UIDAI from Google Play Store.
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Next download the official app of your respective gas company:
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Indane Consumer: IndianOil ONE
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Bharatgas Consumers: HelloBPCL
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HP Gas Consumer: HP PAY
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Login to the app with your registered mobile number and go to the profile section and select ‘e-KYC’ or ‘Aadhaar Verification’ option.
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Complete the verification instantly at home by scanning your face (Face Authentication) in front of the mobile camera.
2. Cylinder Delivery Time:
When the delivery boy comes to deliver the LPG cylinder at your home, you can complete the authentication on the spot by getting fingerprint or face-scanning done through the handheld mobile app he has.
3. By visiting your nearest gas agency (Distributor Showroom):
Consumers can go to their nearest gas distributor’s office and complete their e-KYC in just 2 minutes through biometric fingerprint scanner or iris scanner.
Special camps have been organized by gas agencies in rural and urban areas across the country including Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow (Gomti Nagar, Aliganj, Indiranagar, Chowk), Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Noida and Delhi-NCR. Oil companies have so far made customers aware by sending more than 12 crore SMS and WhatsApp messages.
If you need verification or any kind of technical assistance related to gas service, consumers can contact the official national toll-free helpline number. 1800-2333-555 You can contact at. All left out consumers are advised to complete their e-KYC before the deadline of October 1 so that there is no disruption in their monthly gas supply and subsidy.