Anil Ambani gives up LPG subsidy, urges 1 lakh employees to follow

New Delhi: Heeding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call, industrialist Anil Ambani has given up cooking gas subsidies and has urged his group's about one lakh employees to follow suit. Ambani joins a host of industry leaders, including Mukesh  Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Anil Agarwal, Gautam Adani, Uday Kotak  and Kishore Biyani, who have rallied behind Modi's call to  well-to-do people to give up buying LPG at below market price  so as to help cut subsidy bill. 

"As a mark of solidarity to this noble initiative, the leadership team of Reliance Group has already opted out of LPG  subsidy," Ambani's Reliance Group wrote to its employees  yesterday evening.  It appealed to employees, who can afford to buy LPG at market price, to "voluntarily join this moment and contribute  to the cause of nation building." "We strongly believe that this is a great opportunity for all of us to make a humble contribution towards energy conservation, social equitability and improved utilisation of scarce natural resources," it wrote. 

Modi had last month launched the 'Give-it-Up' campaign,  nudging the well-to-do to give up LPG subsidies. Over three lakh people, including ministers, government and public sector  officials and MPs have given up using subsidised LPG.  While a subsidised cooking gas (LPG) cylinder costs Rs 417 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, a marketed priced bottle of the  same size comes for Rs 621. Consumers are entitled to get 12 cylinders at the subsidised rate in a year. 

In its letter to employees, the Group also detailed the  procedure for giving up the use of subsidised LPG. "Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has undertaken several  impactful steps to promote a more inclusive and equitable  quality of life for all sections of the society. One such  initiative is 'Give it Up', through which government is urging  the economically well to do sections of the society to  voluntarily give up use of subsidised LPG and buy at market  price," it added.