While India’s fuel supply chain is under pressure from a global oil shock, a Pune-based company is looking to build the digital infrastructure to make fuel delivery "smarter, faster and more resilient" by partnering with the Centre.
Repos Energy, a "deep fuel-tech" platform, announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to "develop, foster, and promote a robust technology ecosystem in the country by encouraging and supporting product startups, innovators, and entrepreneurs." They plan to do this by identifying and supporting high-potential startups working on deep-tech, energy distribution, and logistics solutions, as per Startup India under the DPIIT.
Repos Energy stated that its platform "builds a digital layer over fuel logistics, enabling on-demand, intelligent and trackable last-mile fuel delivery, a model that has historically remained unaddressed at scale anywhere in the world."
The MoU with DPIIT is set to make Repos Energ a collaborator to work closely with the government on innovation-led growth in sectors critical to national infrastructure and resilience.
This comes amid the Finance Ministry cutting the central excise duty on petrol and diesel to absorb part of the oil shock from the raging Middle East conflict, and keep start-run oil giants from hiking petrol and diesel prices.
The official ministry notification reduces the special additional excise duty on petrol to ₹3 per litre from the earlier ₹13 per litre, and slashes the levy on diesel to nil, replacing the earlier ₹10 per litre. The change takes effect immediately, as per the order. The partnership will also see Repos actively supporting other startups and innovators, effectively becoming a node in India's wider deeptech ecosystem, according to the company.
Aditi Bhosale Walunj, Founder of Repos Energy, said, "For any startup, government backing like this gives you credibility, visibility, and access to an ecosystem you simply can't build alone."
"I truly believe this is India's time to build breakthrough solutions and lead the world in doing so," she added.
Earlier this week, DPIIT inked MoUs with Razorpay, KRAFTON, and Blue Star, as the industry body is looking to involve key private players in various sectors to contribute to the Centre’s technology startup ecosystem.