‘HP GAS RASOI GHAR’

A BOON TO THE RURAL MASSES

IN INDIA
by
by

S.V.Sahni,
S.V.Sahni, Executive
Executive Director,
Director, LPG
LPG Business
Business Unit
Unit
Hindustan
Hindustan Petroleum
Petroleum Corporation
Corporation Limited,
Limited, India
India

Date : 27th July, 2004 Venue : FICCI Federation house

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 Agenda
• Nature of Rural Market in India
• Rural Market - Challenges
• Over coming the Challenges
• HP Gas Rasoi Ghar - Installation
• HP Gas Rasoi Ghar - Operations
• Exploring new horizons
• HP Gas Rasoi Ghar – Benefits
• Conclusion

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Rural India

700 0.7
Spread
Million Million
Across
Population Villages

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Distribution Of Indian Villages
Distribution of Villages (2001)

24.3 25.0
160000
140000 19.7
120000 17.9
No. of villages

100000
80000 10.8
60000

40000
20000 1.8
0.5
0
Less than 200-499 500-999 1000-1999 2000-4999 5000-9999 10000 &
200 above
Population (% of total villages)

Nearly 50% of the villages are in

the population range of 200 -
1000

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Face of Rural India today….

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 Rural Market– Some Facts
• More than 50% of the population earns less than a
dollar a day
• 77% people across the country depend on
traditional fuels (wood, dung) for cooking and
heating
• Only 44% people have access to electricity
• Literacy levels abysmally low – 59 %
• Low reach of any form of media making awareness levels
extremely low
• Poor health & hygiene condition

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 Rural Market– Possible solutions
• Poor cooking conditions such as closed places, smoke etc.
results in poor health condition
• Access to modern, affordable energy would provide this
this cross section of society the
• productive capacity for stimulating economic development
• improve health, environment, literacy and reduce
hardships imposed on women and children.
• Prevent Mass scale deforestation
• LPG demonstrate immediate value to households by providing
more efficient, cleaner and better means to cook food, heat
water and light homes

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 Rural Market– LPG Challenge
• However, for making LPG accessible in rural markets the
following issues present challenges
•Low purchasing power - Inability to pay deposits and refill
charges at one time.
•Logistics in transportation of small quantities of cylinders
to far off and remote places.
•Easy availability of alternate fuels such as firewood.
•Small unsecured houses.
• Research has highlighted that majority of rural population are
daily wage earners who are unable to arrange even for alternate
fuel such as coal and kerosene on a daily basis.

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 Rural Market– Overcoming the
Challenge
• For LPG to take off in rural markets, the
challenges had to be addressed and overcome
• HPCL as a responsible corporate has taken up the
responsibility and come up with a novel idea for
providing this cross section of the society with
cheap and alternate fuel for cooking at affordable
price
• “HP GAS Rasoi Ghar (community kitchen)” concept
•to provide cooking facility at affordable price
•to provide immediate hand on experience to
villagers for easy operation of LPG

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 HP Gas Rasoi Ghar - Installation
• HP Gas Rasoi Ghars are normally set up in villages
• The space for the purpose is provided free of cost by the
village panchyat or villagers.
• HPCL renovates the same and sets up HP GAS Rasoi Ghar by
providing a kitchen platform.
• HPCL also provides the stoves, utensils and cylinders with
Suraksha hoses.
• Normally for a Rasoi Ghar of 8 to 10 families, 2 to 3 nos. of
double burner stoves and a bank of 2 cylinders are
provided.

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 HP Gas Rasoi Ghar - Operations
• The show in mostly self-managed by the users with flexibility in
operations
• HPCL introduced the single burner stoves with a rating of 200 gms
/ Hr, which costs Rs. 4.00 per hour.
• Cooking time in rural is 45 minutes and accordingly it costs
approximately Rs. 3.00 per family per meal.
• Work is in progress on further cost reduction by introduction of
fuel efficient single burner stoves.
• HP Gas has rolled out the concept in urban areas too, by setting
up Rasoi Ghars at certain public places like AIIMS, King George
Hospital etc.
• Temporary Rasoi ghars also set up during Kumbh melas at Nasik
& Ujjain
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 HP Gas Rasoi Ghar – Exploring
new horizons
• Pandharkawada Forest division in Maharashtra covers 900 Sq.Km
of forest area having 800-900 villages with 70-80 households in
each village.
• The challenge was to prevent deforestation
• To achieve this, a collaborative effort between HP Gas and the
Forest department was launched and nearly 100 locations were
identified
• Today 32 Rasoi Ghars are in operations and balance are due to
start shortly.
• The fire wood consumption in a household of four is 4 kgs (10
small sized trees)
• Assuming10 families use each Rasoi Ghar, it will help in saving
36 lakhs small sized trees per annum.
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 HP Gas Rasoi Ghar - Benefits
• No one time investment on deposit, hot plate and utensils to
individual consumers.
• Ready cooking place with affordable fuel - Consumers to pay
basis the duration of usage.
• Savings in time due to reduction in cooking time – use of LPG Vs
other fuels
• LPG being an Eco-friendly clean fuel protects environment.
• Preventing deforestation
• Time spent in collection of fire wood can be better utilised.

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 HP Gas Rasoi Ghar – Conclusion
• The concept has been replicated in many other places and
today nearly 550 Rasoi Ghars are successfully operating
across the country, benefiting more than 10,000 families.

• Concept has received wide appreciation from

Environmentalists, Women & Voluntary organizations etc.
 Propose to Mobilize Women Self Help Groups, Forest department
and social organizations in the villages to put up future Rasoi
Ghars
A documentary On
Community Kitchen
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