Expansion of city gas distribution infra may create 450k jobs: HSSC chief

According to Sandeep Singh Rana, there will also be job growth in retail fuel pumps, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution.

The expansion of India’s city gas distribution (CGD) infrastructure could generate about 450,000 jobs, according to Sandeep Singh Rana, the chief operating officer of the Hydrocarbon Sector Skill Council (HSSC).

“To make natural gas available to the public, the government has put strong emphasis on expansion of the CGD network across the country. The growth of CGD coverage is estimated to generate about 450,000 employment opportunities in hydrocarbon-related jobs in the next 20-25 years,” Rana told Business Standard.

After the launch of the 10th bidding round for CGD, the coverage of the gas grid network has expanded to about 70 per cent of the country’s population, spreading over 50 per cent of the country’s geographical area.

According to Rana, there will also be job growth in retail fuel pumps, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution. These will be supported by new petrol pumps being set up in tier-II and -III cities by private and public sector enterprises to cater to the ever-burgeoning demand. “This is likely to fuel the retail growth in the sector, thereby, requiring more staff to man these retail petrol pumps,” he said.

Another opportunity is the expansion of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). “This will require more skilled manpower at the local storage and distribution station and delivery boys. This would also lead to an increase in demand for workforce trained towards the repair and maintenance of these new gas stoves and other apparatus,” Rana said.

The HSSC was set up in line with the National Skill Mission of India. Rana said, since HSSC became operational in 2018m, it has trained and certified over 142,000 personnel.

The council has developed Qualification Packs (QPs) of 23 high-priority jobs in the hydrocarbon sector. From amongst those, the most sought after skills are for retail outlet attendant (oil and gas), LPG delivery personnel, LPG mechanic, industrial welder (oil and gas), industrial electrician (oil and gas), pipe fitter – CGD, among others.

“The majority of these short-term skill trainings on hydrocarbon sector job roles are being conducted at skill development institutes (SDIs), state skill missions and affiliated training partners of HSSC. These SDIs have been setup and being run at six locations in the country by oil and gas central public sector undertakings,” Rana said.

Highlighting the challenges being faced in success of the skill mission, Rana said the recognition of short-term vocational/skill certifications among hydrocarbon sector players is an impediment.

“Government has put great emphasis on implementation of the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). It’s time to make skill certification essential in government and PSU work contracts/jobs in a phase-wise manner. That will also improve work productivity and safety in operations,” he said.

“The recruitment rules of the government, PSUs, and private sector shall be amended to define eligibility criteria for various positions in terms of NSQF levels,” he added.