Govt weighing proposal to close petrol pumps at night

The government is toying with the idea of keeping petrol pumps closed in the night as part of its efforts to reduce the rising consumption of auto fuels.

This is one of the various proposals before the government, which is looking at ways to cut the massive oil import bill, minister of petroleum and natural gas M Veerappa Moily said on Sunday.

Crude petroleum imports account for a major share of the country's import bill and reducing oil imports is crucial to bringing down the country's current account deficit, or CAD, the minister said.

Moily said his ministry is launching a massive fuel conservation drive from 16 September to reduce fuel demand by at least 3 per cent, which would help save an estimated Rs16,000 crore ($2.5 billion) of imports.

He said the proposal to shut petrol pump at night is only an idea that has come to the ministry and it is not yet accepted by the ministry.

There are various other options and ideas that have been floated, Moily added.

The opposition Bhartiya Janata Party, however, reacted sharply to the idea floated by Moily, saying that the UPA government has run out of ideas to tackle the economic mess, in which they have brought the country to.

Oil secretary Vivek Rae, however, said there was no plan before the ministry to keep petrol pumps in cities shut from 8 pm to 8 am to curb demand for petrol and diesel.

The Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) under the petroleum ministry will launch a six-week campaign from 16 September to promote conservation of petrol, diesel and LPG.

India's oil import bill, which stood at $144.293 billion in 2012-13, is expected to rise further in the current financial year and the petroleum ministry is looking at ways to save at least $20 million on the import bill, Moily added.