Cabinet opens doors for companies in fuel retail businesses

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to even non-oil companies to set up petrol pumps in a bid to increase investment &competition in the sector. According to the current norms, in order to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India, a company needs to invest ₹2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.Now, companies with ₹250 crore turnover can enter fuel retailing, provided that 5% of the outlets will be in rural areas. The government has given the green chit in fuel retailing for petrol, diesel, LNG and CNG.