State-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) have decided to introduce an “e-key” facility for tankers carrying fuel from depots to retail outlets.
 
Under the plan, the tankers carrying fuel will not only have global positioning system (GPS) tracking system, but will also have an electronic key (e-key).
 
The tanker can be opened only through an one-time password (OTP) when it reaches the petrol pumps outlet.
 
As many as 40 BPCL outlets in Delhi are reportedly using this e-key facility, and other 500 BPCL outlets are likely to receive this facility by early next year.
 
An official close to the development told Business Standard, “Even if we have centralized GPS tracking, people can manipulate it and divert routes. In this case, if a particular tanker takes more time to reach the particular destination from a terminal, the dealer will need special permission from the companies other than the OTP.”
 
The official further stated that end-to-end automation involves tracking of fuel gone through nozzles and tanks too and will also transfer data to the central system.
 
As of October, there are total 60,799 retail outlets of both state-owned OMCs and private sector operators. Among which, Indian Oil has the highest 26,489 outlets, followed by HPCL with 14,675 outlets, BPCL with 14,161 outlets and remaining 5,474 belonged to private companies.
 
The decision has been taken in the wake of Uttar Pradesh petrol pump chip scam, under which two men were arrested in a joint operation by Uttar Pradesh STF and Thane crime branch.
 
The two men were reportedly found selling more than 1000 chips to petrol pump owners, and they also sold similar chips in 3-4 districts of Maharashtra. The chip was used to trick customers.