All households to soon have clean cooking fuel: Dharmendra Pradhan
Greater Noida (UP), Feb 10: After catapulting LPG coverage by about 40 per cent in just 55 months, the government will soon make available clean cooking fuel to all households, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Sunday.
Speaking at the Petrotech 2019 conference here on the outskirts of Delhi, he said coverage of LPG in the country has reached close to 90 per cent, rising from about 55 per cent in 2014.
"Very soon, India will be connecting all households with clean cooking fuel. The source of fuel will be LPG as well as gas from bio-mass and alternate sources," he said.
The increase in coverage has been credited to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), which provides free cooking gas (LPG) connection to the poor. Under PMUY, about 6.4 crore connections have been provided since the launch of the scheme on May 1, 2016, he said.
"Before March 31, 2020, we will provide LPG connections to 8 crore households under PMUY," he said.
LPG is supposed to replace traditional cooking fuels in rural kitchens such as firewood and cow dung which not only contribute to environmental degradation but also have serious health implications on users.
Pradhan said the oil and gas sector is a key contributor to India's economy and accounted for almost 55 per cent of its energy mix in 2017.
India is the third largest consumer of crude oil and petroleum products in the world, accounting for 4.5 per cent of global oil consumption, behind US and China. ?
"We have taken several measures to overhaul the hydrocarbon policy framework to ensure energy security for the country while pursuing the green path to progress," he said.
Listing reforms to revitalise the exploration and production ecosystem, he said a new revenue sharing model, uniform licence for all hydrocarbons and marketing freedom for oil and gas have been introduced.
Also, the government has introduced various others policy reforms including marketing and pricing freedom for natural gas produced from deep and ultra-deep waters and high pressure high temperature areas, coal bed methane, incentive for enhanced recovery for augmenting production of oil and gas from matured fields and exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon from all fields.
"We have set up a state-of-the-art National Data Repository to facilitate potential investors to take informed decisions based on the geo-scientific data of hydrocarbon resources in the country.
"With the introduction of National Data Repository, India has joined the league of countries like UK and Norway which have a national data repository for the upstream sector," he said. ?
In downstream sector to India has been able to attract global investments, he said, adding that leading players like Saudi Aramco, ADNOC, Total and Shell are expanding their footprints in the country's energy space and looking to invest more in the Indian oil and gas market.
Pradhan said the world is seeing a dramatic shift in energy sources and consumption, with demand shifting from Europe to Asia.
The US has become the world's largest oil and gas producer after the shale revolution and is challenging the traditional oil dynamics while solar energy is emerging as a competitive and most sustainable energy alternative.
Also, the share of natural gas in the global energy mix is rising.
"The convergence of cheaper renewable energy technologies, digital applications and the rising role of electricity will form the basis for achieving many of the world's sustainable development goals," he said.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
