Thu Dec 19 18:48:56 UTC 2024: ## Tamil Nadu Cooperative Sector Unimpressed by Central Govt’s Fuel Dealership Plan
**Chennai, December 20, 2024** – The announcement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah that Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies (PACCS) can now apply for petrol, diesel, and LPG dealerships has been met with lukewarm enthusiasm in Tamil Nadu. While the central government highlights revised guidelines allowing PACCS to participate and cites examples of successful applications across India, existing cooperative societies in Tamil Nadu already hold a significant share of the fuel retail market.
The Nilgiris Co-operative Marketing Society (NCMS) already operates an LPG agency, and a total of 87 petrol and diesel outlets are run by various cooperative societies across the state. The Tamil Nadu Co-operative Marketing Federation (TANFED) alone operates eight fuel dispensing units and achieved a turnover of ₹91.09 crore from petrol and diesel sales in 2023-24. The minister’s statement, while outlining new support measures for PACCS entering the fuel market, hasn’t swayed Tamil Nadu’s cooperative sector, which argues that the state is already well-represented in the fuel retail space. The government’s claim that 26 societies have been selected nationally following applications from 286 PACCS has not impacted the relatively uninterested Tamil Nadu cooperatives.
First Piper 