(FE)
More than two years after the idea of doorstep delivery of fuels was mooted, Reliance Industries (RIL) is preparing to enter the fray. The state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs), on their part, will add at least 500 doorstep fuel delivery vehicles within the current financial year. The OMCs — Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL — will soon be issuing advertisements to select interested start-ups and entrepreneurs to enter the field, said a source. Meanwhile, “to take the fuel delivery to customer’s doorstep, RIL is working on next generation business models,” the company noted in its annual report for 2018-19.
Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan had announced the idea of home delivery of fuel in April 2017. Diesel was selected for pilots as it is considered less hazardous compared with petrol once taken out of the licensed area for dispensing into motor vehicles.
To be sure, RIL at present delivers diesel in packaged containers mostly for telecom towers. It has all the requisite regulatory permits for launching diesel in high-density polyethylene packs, said the annual report. The state-run OMCs have conducted door-to-door pilots in 30 places instead of the authorised 50 locations as there has been reluctance from various corners. While the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) — the organisation responsible for safe distribution of petroleum products — wanted start-ups to remain under the supervision of OMCs and come through the three companies for permissions, OMCs wanted the start-ups to tie up with dealers directly.
