Govt throws open fuel retailing to all players

New Delhi: In a landmark oil sector reform, the government on Wednesday relaxed rules for setting up petrol pumps and allowed non-oil companies to venture into the business in the world’s fastest-growing fuel retailing market. The relaxed rules, which includes a far lower investment threshold for entering fuel retailing, is expected to help private and foreign firms to move into this lucrative market.

At present, to obtain a fuel retailing license in India, a company needs to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or LNG terminals. However, this rule has now been changed.