Saurabh Chandra desperate for Modi's attention
Saurabh Chandra is doing all he can to impress Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hope he can secure a good post after his retirement in April this year.
In a shrewd move the oil secretary last month (December) adopted Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi to monitor the roll out and implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme where the subsidy on a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder is transferred directly to the customer’s bank account. “Varanasi has already crossed the national average of 40%,” Chandra told PETROWATCH on January 11.
“More than 50% of the LPG connections are now linked to customer bank accounts.” Chandra also visited Varanasi on January 13 to address consumer grievances and ensure targets are met.
He has asked state-owned refiners Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and IndianOil to give top priority to the DBTL scheme. “Because of this the directors at these state-owned refiners are busy accompanying MPs as they inaugurate the DBTL scheme in different cities,” we learn.
Modi’s government re-launched the scheme in 54 districts on November 15, 2014 and in the rest of India on January 1, 2015. Chandra is also pushing Modi’s clean India or ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign.
“He calls meetings every week to review the performance of state-owned companies,” we hear.
