Govt may give 'divested' PSU status to BPCL to save LPG customers' subsidy

BPCL has around 73 million LPG consumers, while Indian Oil has 134 million and HPCL around 78 million

The government may give Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) the status of “divested public sector undertaking” to ensure that its cooking gas customers do not lose subsidy even after the privatisation of the company, according to multiple sources aware of the development. A proposal regarding this may soon get the Union Cabinet’s nod, they said.

There is, however, also a plan to gradually transfer the existing LPG consumer base of BPCL to Indian Oil Corporation (Indian Oil) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), which remain directly or indirectly owned by the government. But this proposal may not see the light of the