The NDA Government’s ‘Give it up’ endeavour, an initiative aimed at motivating the ‘well-off’ lPG customers to surrender their subsidised connections has been chugging at a languid pace since it was first launched in January this year.The Petroleum Ministry therefore is planning to launch a massive media blitzkrieg in the coming days, hoping to make more such creamy layer customers ‘conscious’ about it and give up their connections. The campaign however at the same time will underline the fact that it is after all a voluntary exercise.
Official sources said that with the help of social media as well as the traditional posters and hoardings method, the Government plans to be more ‘in your face’ about the ‘Give it up’ initiative. As affluent lPG customers are understandably smart phone users, the promotion of this campaign through the social media route will not escape them. In addition to this, through placement of big hoardings at strategic locations in cities and towns across the country, the Government is hoping to catch greater eyeballs and hopefully more surrenders of subsidised lPG connections.
Till now the Government had not exactly been advertising this scheme through campaigns and other medium of publicity, as it was felt that being a voluntary effort, advertising it could have given out a wrong message to the people that it is something which is ‘subtly’ being pushed down their throat.
The money to be saved through the voluntary surrender of such connections, is to be used by the Government for giving subsidised connections to the poor households.As of now around 3.5 lakh affluent users have voluntarily given up their subsidised lPG connections, however sources informed that there are 30 lakh such customers, and therefore the need for aggressive marketing of the ‘Give it up’ campaign arose.
While posters have already started coming up in the national capital, the social media campaign, sources privy to the development said, will also start soon.As of now, customers are entitled to twelve 14.2-kg cylinders per household in a year at subsidised rates. A subsidised 14.2-kg cylinder is currently available at Rs417 per bottle in the national capital.Market priced lPG is available at Rs708.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder and Rs351 per 5-kg bottle.
Giving up subsidised lPG will also help cut Government’s subsidy bill which was Rs46,458 crore on the fuel in FY14.Officially the Petroleum Ministry had started the campaign in January this year, when several ministers in the NDA Government like Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and even Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had voluntarily given up their subsidised lPG connections. Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had even called up several ministers and Chief Ministers personally, urging them to give up their connections.
However Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April this year, gave the initiative a name – ‘Give it up’ – aiming to give a new fillip to the effort.Now it seems, the Government is planning to make use of social media and traditional advertising methods to make more affluent lPG connection holders aware about the scheme and urge them to surrender their subsidised bottles for the larger good of the country.