Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: India’s leading research organisation in areas of social and development research, Research & Development Initiative along with leading Public Sector oil companies – Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation & Hindustan Petroleum Corporation have come together to organise the nation’s first International Conference on cooking gas. The two day conference, to be held in Odisha’s capital city, will be inaugurated by Jharkhand Governor Hon. Smt. Droupadi Murmu on September 1.
Besides the Hon. Governor, the conference will be addressed by a cross section of dignitaries including Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mr. Jagat Prakash Nadda, Union Minister of State (Ind. Charge), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, UN Assistant Secretary General & Deputy Executive Director UN Women Ms. Lakshmi Puri, and Chairman, Global LPG Partnership, USA Mr. Kimball Chen.
Senior bureaucrats and heads of state-owned oil companies including Petroleum & Natural Gas Secretary Mr. K.D. Tripathy, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman Mr. Ram Sewak Sharma, IOC Chairman Mr. B. Ashok, BPCL Chairman & Managing Director Mr. S. Varadarajan, and HPCL Chairman & Managing Director Mr. M. K. Surana will also speak on the critical subject.
The international conference will see over two dozen speakers and delegates from over a dozen developing countries such as Brazil, Guatemala, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Nigeria, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. Further, experts and stakeholders from USA and Europe will speak on global best practices and the likelihood of their adoption in the Indian context.
The seminar will deliberate on the need for an LPG enabled household, problems arising due to absence of LPG connection, the usage of traditional bio mass cooking fuels and their impact on both health and environment. The session will be chaired by Chairman, Global LPG Partnership, Mr. Kimball Chen.
The conference, which concludes on September 2, will also have a session on the hugely successful “Give it Up’ scheme that has given birth to a Silent Revolution and encouraged a large part of India’s affluent section to voluntary give up their LPG subsidy in favour of the nation’s poor. Chaired by TRAI Chairman Mr. Ram Sewak Sharma, the session will discuss the philosophy of creating a movement of instilling pride in “Giving it Up” for the country.
The meet will also discuss the success of the largest Direct Bank Transfer Scheme PAHAL that now allows direct transfer of subsidy on cooking gas to the beneficiary’s bank account and the crucial role of technology in curbing pilferage of funds.
An integral part of the conference will be discussion on Ujjwala and how it is becoming a vehicle of women empowerment & overall socio economic growth for the poor in India. This session will be chaired by Ms. Lakshmi Puri, UN Assistant Secretary General & Deputy Executive Director – UN Women.
The international participants like Dr. Walter Hart, Vice President, IHS, USA will discuss the Role of private sector in expanding the reach of LPG while Ms. Allison Abott, Communication Director, World LPG Association will discuss the role of Women in LPG Global Network – Global Practices & International Models.
