Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)/ Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP)
This is a paradigm shift from Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime to Revenue Sharing Contract (RSC) regime based on the principle of ease of doing business. It provides for single License for exploration and production of conventional as well as non-conventional Hydrocarbon resources; Pricing and Marketing Freedom; reduced rate of royalty for offshore blocks, Open Acreage Licensing Policy that means option to select the exploration blocks without waiting for formal bid round.
City Gas Distribution (CGD) Network
To make available natural gas to public at large, Government has put strong emphasis on expansion of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network coverage across the country. CGD networks ensures the supply of cleaner fuel (i.e. PNG) to households, Industrial & commercial units as well as transportation fuel (i.e. CNG) to vehicles. Till 2017, only 19% of the country’s population spreading over 11% of the country’s area was covered for development of CGDs in 96 Geographical areas.
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
In order to provide clean cooking fuel LPG to BPL households in the country, the Government has launched “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana”(PMUY) scheme to provide to provide 5 Crore deposit-free LPG connections to women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, which were subsequently increased to 8 Crore.
Beneficiaries are identified through Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) list and in case the names are not appearing in the SECC list, beneficiaries are identified from categories i.e. SC/STs households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY (Gramin), Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Forest dwellers, Most backward Classes (MBC), Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes and people residing in Islands/ river islands.
SATAT Initiative
- The Ministry has decided to give vide publicity to the initiative of Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT initiative) by organising Road Shows at Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh and Lucknow to promote Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) production and use.
- PAHAL
Government, as a measure of Good Governance, has introduced well targeted system of subsidy delivery to LPG consumers through PAHAL. The initiative of the Government was aimed at rationalizing subsidies based on approach to cut subsidy leakages, but not subsidies themselves.