The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has called upon the Public Sector Oil Companies (OMCs) to pool their resources, technologies, experiences and best practices so that they are better prepared to meet the challenges of the future. Inaugurating a two-day workshop of OMCs on “Integrated Margin Management” here today, he said that the OMCs should compete for their market share but at the same time, best ideas and experiences should be shared among themselves. The Minister said that the Government’s priority is the common man, especially the poor, and all of us should work as their Trustees, by working for their welfare and safeguard their interests. He said that responsibility and accountability of the Government as well as PSUs have increased due to openness and transparency, and we should rise to the occasion.
The Minister said that import bill and subsidy burden are the two main challenges before the Government, and reforms as well as pro-poor policies will go hand in hand. Shri Pradhan said India is a big market, and foreign investors are willing to invest here. He said that policy reforms may come, and the PSUs should shed their monopolistic thinking. The OMCs should be ready for the challenge, by harnessing their resources, improving the efficiency and exploring the areas of improvement. He further said that there is need to work on the issues of reliability, trust, transparency, and also take into account the norms and aspirations of the society. The Minister said that refining margins of OMCs should be improved, and all the OMCs should put their heads together to generate ideas. Pradhan said that India needs to tap the institutional resources, for improving our policy planning and execution. He said that synergy with academic bodies should help bridge the gap.