You are a matriculate, aged between 21-60 years, and own a chunk of land which in the eyes of the public sector oil marketing companies is in a viable area not covered by their existing vast network of retail outlets, then here’s a golden chance to own a petrol pump of your own. Under a nationwide rollout, except in the five poll-bound states, where the code of conduct is in force, the three state owned oil marketing companies – BPCL, HPCL and IOCL – on Sunday announced offers to Indian citizens to open up thousands of new retail outlets as part of a massive expansion drive.
In Chandigarh, IOCL Chief General Manager Sandeep Jain, who is also state level coordinator for the oil industry in Punjab, accompanied by senior officials from the other two companies, told media persons that 2740 new outlets from all the three state owned oil marketing companies together were up for grabs in the state – 1584 regular outlets and 1156 rural outlets – to add to a network of 3200 existing outlets.
Photo By : Life In Chandigarh
For ease of doing business and for greater transparency in allotment, all the earlier cumbersome processes have been done away with. Now any person desirous of running a retail outlet just needs to visit the web site www.petrolpumpdealerchayan.in, go through the brochure and advertisement and register online for any of the listed sites of any of the three oil marketing companies.
Persons already owning land and those who are in possession of a letter of purchase of land will be given first and second preference respectively, though a third category of people, who do not have any committed land with them will also be considered in case there are no takers from the first two categories of applicants. A computerised draw of lots will be held wherever there are more than one applicant for a particular site.
For the first time no documentation will be asked for upfront and the process of furnishing and verification of documents will be initiated only after a person is selected and granted a letter of intent (LOI) from the respective oil marketing company. This time the norm of multiple dealerships not being allowed in a single name has also been relaxed, allowing existing petrol pump owners to apply for more outlets.
Reservations have been made for various categories of applicants.
The registration process began on Sunday itself and online applications will be entertained till December 24. An applicant can expect to complete the online registration in just 5-10 minutes, assured the officials, who also claimed that with the recent “handsome” revision of commissions and incentives offered by the oil marketing companies, owning a petrol pump had become more lucrative. The companies will themselves undertake laying of the entire basic infrastructure using the latest automation technology, leaving little for the successful applicant to spend from his own pocket.
However, going by the experience in the past, when not more than 15-17 percent of the advertised outlets were taken up, the oil marketing companies are not expecting all sites on offer to be allotted. The last round of allotments had taken place in 2014.
The officials informed that the retail sales of petrol and diesel are increasing nationwide at an average rate of approximately 8% and 4% respectively, though these figures differ slightly from state to state.
The expansion of retail outlet (petrol pump) network is being undertaken by the oil marketing companies primarily to meet the growing fuel needs and convenience of customers in emerging markets like upcoming highways, agricultural pockets and industrial hubs. The retail outlet network in rural, remote and far-flung areas is also being expanded with an aim of primarily making available quality and fair-priced high speed diesel (HSD) to agricultural communities and people living in remote areas, they added.
LifeInChandigarh.com Comment
The timing of the expansion is significant, coming as it is towards the fag end of the tenure of the BJP-led NDA government. Each petrol pump employs a significant number of workers, leading to generation of employment opportunities for people living in the adjoining areas.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
From textiles to home decor items in various mediums, ranging from ceramic to bamboo, to metals to wood and many more, the choice is endless. To take a break from shopping one can take a bite at the food courts and enjoy a camel ride or one of the various performances happening on the trot at multiple locations.
.jpg)
A write-up of the brand shared with media persons says, “The store houses an enthralling range of fine jewellery catering to varied tastes. Elegantly designed, Being Human Jewellery offers light-weight collections in plain gold, diamonds and coloured stone pieces. The designs are classic, stylish and affordable, catering to every woman’s taste in fine jewellery.” 
A video recording of Salman’s message for the occasion, was also played out on screen in which the star said though he could not be present, despite wanting to, “It feels great that we are taking our next step of expansion with Being Human Jewellery’s first franchise store in Chandigarh! The people of Chandigarh have always given me a lot of love, and I hope we continue to receive it.”
Speaking to lifeinchandigarh.com, Prasad Kapre, CEO and Director, Style Quotient Jewellery Pvt Ltd, the world licensee of the Being Human Jewellery brand, shared that the launch of the brand was sparked by the tremendous popularity of the pendant worn by Salman in the super hit movie ‘Bajrangi Bhai Jaan’. “I had designed the pendant, and when we received a tremendous response for it after the movie, we discussed how to capitalise on it. Thus the seed was sown for launching a jewellery brand in the name of Salman’s foundation, Being Human.”
There will be 170 odd stalls with artisans from nearly all states exhibiting their products. A dozen stalls have been earmarked for the Chandigarh Administration. A special stall will be dedicated to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. The stall will showcase some rare pictures from the Mahatma’s life, the freedom struggle and other aspects of his journey.
Among the bands and individual artists performing at the cultural evenings will be the famous Bhopal based Sanskrit band ‘Dhruvaa’, which performs to laser lights, the all woman folk band Lasya wow womania, Gurdas Mann’s protégé Lal Chand Lala, Hans Raj Hans, Satinder Sartaj, Jazzy B, Lakhwinder Wadali, B Paraak, Sonu Virk, Kulwinder Billa, Ranjit Bawa, Anadi Misra and Manjeet Nikki.
Replying to a question, Jitender Yadav informed that a detailed project report has been sent to the Union Ministry of Culture to spruce up the Kalagram grounds by laying more tracks and increasing the greenery for a more enjoyable experience for visitors in the future. To this Saubhagya Sharma added that more mega events are being planned to be included in the existing calendar of events at Kalagram with a motive to keep it in a high state of upkeep and maintenance throughout the year and generate more revenues. There is also a plan to revamp the sculpture park at Kalagram to attract more visitors.