EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834

EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)

Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

CONSUMER SATISFACTION TOWARDSDIRECT BENEFIT TRANSFER

OF LPG (DBTL) SCHEME WITH REFERENCE TO CHENNAI, AVADI
M. YADHU KRISHNAN*, U. VISHNU DAS** AND A. K. SUBRAMANI***
*
I YEAR M.B.A,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062. TAMIL NADU, INDIA.
**
I YEAR M.B.A,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062. TAMIL NADU, INDIA.
***
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
VEL TECH BUSINESS SCHOOL, VEL TECH UNIVERSITY,
AVADI, CHENNAI 600062, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

ABSTRACT
Apparently, LPG had become an unavoidable part of human beings. The LPG was being
a part of human life since decades. Since it is getting necessary from time to time, in the same
time the amount of available LPG is getting limited. As a result government introduced several
measures to solve this issue. Somewhere failures while somewhere success but not up to the
extent. Later after the arrival of UIDAI (Unique Identification System - AADHAR) government
came up with a new idea to link AADHAR and bank account of the LPG Consumer and provide
subsidy via bank. This scheme is on role right now. This study titled Consumer Satisfaction
towards Direct Benefit Transfer OF LPG (DBTL) Scheme with reference to Chennai, Avadi
aims at analyzing the satisfaction level of LPG users towards this scheme. For the purpose
primary data which is collected directly from Consumers using questionnaire and several
secondary form source are also on use. We are also using the tools like Frequency analysis, Chi-
square test, One-Way ANOVA etc. to analyze the data collected.

KEY WORDS: Sather, Consumer Satisfaction, DBTL, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, UIDAI.

INTRODUCTION
Consumer satisfaction refers to the extent to which Consumers are happy with the
products and services provided by a business. Consumer satisfaction levels can be measured
using survey techniques and questionnaires. In case, the performance falls short of expectations
the consumer is dissatisfied. Conversely, if the performance matches the expectations, the
Consumer is satisfied. However, if the performance exceeds expectations, the consumer is highly
satisfied or delighted.
The purpose of the study was to analyze the need and satisfaction level of Consumers or
users towards the DBTL scheme. The Study reflected a new phase of subsidy scheme introduced
by government. To be precise the whole study is related with examining the process of linking
Andhra (UIDAI) with bank account and LPG centre to provide subsidy via bank to create
savings for the users. The research access and analyze the factors of satisfaction, primly. Then,

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

empirical research is conducted to come up with effect of factors on the satisfaction level of
Consumers of LPG and DBTL scheme.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Illegal usage of domestic LPG cylinders at restaurants and roadside eateries in Surat
Inefficiency by the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the district civil supplies
department in curbing the illegal usage of domestic LPG cylinders by roadside eateries has come
to fore following a fire incident at the city's Khaudhra Gali at Haripura on Tuesday. Sources in
the fire and emergency department said that a fast-food shop at the Khaudhra Gali at Haripura
was gutted in a fire after a major blast in the domestic LPG cylinder on Tuesday morning. The
fire brigade personnel recovered the domestic LPG cylinder from the spot.

Illegal use of LPG cylinders still rampant

The Telegraph newspaper of Calcutta conducted survey on rampant of cylinders, India
reported several illegal issues related with LPG usage in Guwahati. In that area civil supplies
department are closing their eyes against the illegal commercial use of domestic LPG. 45 cases
were registered regarding this issue. Several restaurants and stalls are making illegal use of
domestic LPG. 14kg cylinders of Rs 405 are sold at Rs 930 and provide more number of
cylinders than allotted. Many people keep illegal blue books. Telegraph found many such
issues related with illegal use of LPG in Assam.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To analyze the satisfaction level of LPG consumers towards DBTL scheme with
reference to Avadi region.
To ascertain the consumer response towards subsidy on LPG.
To assess the satisfaction towards current price of LPG.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

The use of firewood for cooking is not suitable for the people, because it is very time
consuming and expensive, inconvenience to use and increase pollution etc. Nowadays most of
the families are nuclear in size. Hence collecting, storing and using of firewood are difficult for
them. These difficulties are removed by the use of LPG because; LPG helps in save time, makes
it easy for cooking and also reduces the pollution etc. so most of them prefer to use LPG.
The various LPG schemes such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBTL) helps the public to use LPG
at an affordable rate. So AADHAR helps to avoid unauthorized use of LPG. It is also helpful to
increase the standard of living of people. The study also claims to find out expediency and
justice in the distribution of cylinder and providing subsidies to the Consumers.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Universe of the study is all help Consumers in Chennai residing at Avadi. Convenience
sampling technique was used for sampling. Sample size was50.Both primary and secondary data
was used for data collection, primary data from the LPG Consumers. Secondary data from
websites, journals, unpublished sources, etc.Structured Questionnaire was used for data
collection. The various tools chosen for data analysis were Chi-square test, One-way ANOVA
Table, etc.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:

1. FREQUENCY ANALYSIS:
Percentage analysis is one of the descriptive statistical measures used to describe the
characteristics of the sample or population in totality. Percentage analysis involves computing
measures of variables selected of the study and its finding will give easy interpretation for the
reader.
Table 1 Frequency Analysis on Age and Gender
S.no Particulars Frequency Percentage
1. Gender
Male 28 56
Female 22 44
2. Age
18-25 23 46
25-40 19 38
Above 40 8 16
(Source: Primary Data)
From the table 1, it is inferred that majority (56%) of the respondents are Male. also
among the total respondents (46%) are of the age 18-25 years.

Table 2. Frequency Analysis on LPG details

S.no Particulars Frequency Percentage
1. Have LPG connection
Yes 50 100
No 0 0
2. Regular consumer of LPG
Yes 47 94
No 3 6
3. Which Connection
HP 13 26
Bharat 29 58
Indane 8 16
4. Period of usage
Less than 1 year 6 12
1-3 years 11 22
More than years 33 66
5. Can you accept DBTL scheme
Yes 44 88
No 6 12
6. Ready to accept LPG without Subsidy
Yes 27 54
No 23 46

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

From the table 2, it is inferred that all the respondents are having LPG connection and most of
them are regular consumers of LPG (47%). Most of the respondents are from Bharat Gas (58%)
and almost every respondents are using since more than 3 years. Majority of them are accepting
DBTL scheme (88%) but half of them are also ready to accept LPG without subsidy.

2. MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION

Table 3. Mean and Standard - Factors of Consumer satisfaction
Particulars N Mean Std.
Deviation
1. Satisfaction towards price 50 3.74 .600
2. Rate the DBTL scheme 50 3.94 .652
3. Procedure to link Andhra and LPG 50 2.88 .824
4. Support/guidance/response by gas distributor 50 3.10 .953
5. Support/guidance/response by bank 50 3.00 .926
6. Timetaken at the gas distribution 50 3.20 .926
7. Timetaken at the bank 50 3.10 .953
8. DBTL scheme 50 3.38 .780
9. Promptness of subsidy credit in bank 50 3.20 .833
10. Promptness of subsidy- after purchase 50 3.40 .857
11. Price of LPG without subsidy 50 3.22 .840
12. Awareness about LPG 50 3.34 .872
(Source: Primary Data)
INFERENCE:
Consumers are more satisfied with respect to the price and DBTL scheme with a mean above
3.50. While the procedures, support and guidance from bank and distribution agency, time taken
over there, price without subsidy are having average opinion with mean ranging from 3.00-3.25.

3. INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST:

HYPOTHESIS 1
Null Hypothesis:
There is no significant difference between male and female respondents with respect to
the satisfaction towards price and rating of DBTL scheme

Table 4: t-test for significant difference between male and female respondents with respect
to the satisfaction towards price and rating of DBTL scheme
S.No Particulars Gender Mean Std. Deviation t value p value
Male 3.82 0.651 0.684 0.498
1. Satisfaction towards price
Female 3.64 0.492
Male 3.86 0.670 -1.187 0.241
2. Rate the DBTL scheme
Female 4.05 0.653
(Source: Primary Data)

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

INFERENCE:
From the above table, it is inferred that p value of satisfaction towards price is 0.498
which is greater than 0.05, in which null hypothesis is accepted and alternative hypothesis is
rejected at 5% level of significance. Here is no significant difference between male and female
respondents with respect to the satisfaction towards price and rating of DBTL scheme. Male and
female Consumers have shown more equal satisfaction in this situation.

4. CHI-SQUARE TEST:
HYPOTHESIS 2
Null Hypothesis: There is no association between gender and essentials of LPG.
Table 5: Chi- Square test for association between gender and essentials of LPG.
S. No. Gender Whether LPG is essential or not Chi-square Value p value
Yes No
1. Male 24 4
0.752
2. Female 19 3 0.100
Total 43 7
(Source: Primary Data)
INFERENCE:
Since p value is 0.752 which is greater than 0.050 in which null hypothesis is accepted
and alternative hypothesis is rejected at 5% level of significance. Since P value is less than 0.01,
the null hypothesis is rejected at 1 percent level of significance. There is no association between
gender and essentials of LPG. Hence concluded that there is association between gender and
essential of LPG

HYPOTHESIS 3
There is no association between gender and satisfaction towards price.
Table 6: Chi- Square test for association between gender and satisfaction towards price.
Gender Satisfaction towards price Chi-square P value
S.No Value
Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very much
satisfied
1 Male 1 6 18 3
0.409
2 Female 0 8 14 0 2.888
Total 1 14 32 3

(Source: Primary Data)

INFERENCE:
Since p value is 0.409 which is greater than 0.050 in which null hypothesis is accepted
and alternative hypothesis is rejected at 5% level of significance. Since P value is less than 0.01,
the null hypothesis is rejected at 1 percent level of significance. There is no association between
gender and satisfaction towards price. Hence concluded that there is association between gender
and satisfaction towards price.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

HYPOTHESIS 4

Null Hypothesis: There is no association between age and acceptance of LPG without subsidy.

Table 7: Chi- Square test for association between age and acceptance of LPG without
subsidy

S.No. Age in groups Ready to accept LPG without subsidy Chi-square P value

Yes No Value

1 18 -25 12 11

2 25 - 40 10 9
0.278
3 Above 40 5 3 0.870

Total 27 22

(Source: Primary Data)

INFERENCE:
Since p value is 0.870 which is greater than 0.050 in which null hypothesis is
acceptedand alternative hypothesis is rejected at 5% level of significance. Since P value is less
than 0.01, the null hypothesis is rejected at 1 percent level of significance. There is no
association between age and acceptance of LPG without subsidy. Hence concluded that there is
association between gender and acceptance of LPG without subsidy.

ONE WAY ANOVA TABLE:

HYPOTHESIS 5

Null Hypothesis:There is no significant difference between ages of respondents with respect to

the factors of Consumer satisfaction towards DBTL scheme.

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

Table 7: ANOVA test for significant difference between age and factors of
satisfaction of DBTL scheme
S.No. Factors for satisfaction F value P value

1. Procedure to link Aadhar and LPG 1.102 0.341

2. Support/guidance/response by gas distributor 1.469 0.241

3. Support/guidance/response by bank 3.966* 0.026

4. Timetaken at the gas distribution 1.243 0.298

5. Timetaken at the bank 0.302 0.741

6. DBTL scheme 0.183 0.833

7. Promptness of subsidy credit in bank 1.039 0.362

8. Promptness of subsidy- after purchase 0.185 0.832

9. Price of LPG without subsidy 0.940 0.398

10. Awareness about LPG 0.343 0.712

INFERENCE:
From the table, it is inferred that all the p values are ranging above 0.05. Thus, the null value is
accepted and alternative is rejected. Therefore there is no significant difference between age and
factors of satisfaction

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies ________________ ISSN 2249- 8834
EIJMMS, Vol.5 (6), JUNE (2015)
Online available at zenithresearch.org.in

DISCUSSIONS:
Most of the respondents are regular users of LPG since more than 3 years and also they are
well aware about subsidies available. Most of them finds it difficult to have subsidy, thus
they are also ready to accept LPG without subsidy. But they all have a different perspective
towards DBTL scheme and so wise they are ready to accept the changes.
From the mean and std. deviation, it is inferred that the satisfaction level of Consumers are
normal with respect to DBTL scheme, awareness, support and guidance, promptness etc.
which ranges from 3.00 to 3.94.
There is nosignificant difference between male and female of the respondents with respect to
the satisfaction towards the price and rate of DBTL scheme.
There is no significant difference association between ages of the respondents with respect to
the readiness of respondents to accept LPG without subsidy.
The comparison between age and factors of satisfaction is showing is significant difference
between them and are widely.

SUGGESTIONS
Aadhar is a unique identification document. Majority of the Consumers think it is
very difficult to link Aadhar with LPG because they did not get adequate time. Thus it
is necessary to extend the time to link LPG with Aadhar. Also now they started
accept DBTL thus can get easily linked with the society
The satisfaction towards scheme shows on parallel crucial level since, are on primary
levels awareness for the public will be a great positive for the scheme development as
well as adoption.
Bank and distribution centers plays crucial role, thus developing better activity plans
are going to be a good section for DBTL scheme.

CONCLUSION
From the study, it can be concluded that the DBTL scheme are performing in a better
way, providing normal satisfaction to consumers, also the consumers are highly satisfied with the
LPGs current situation without subsidy even if there are some exceptions. But the varying
schemes and previous failures due to improper studies are forcing public to walk in a distance
from these systems.

REFERENCE
BOOKS:
Ramamurthy, G.C.(2000) Research Methodology, Dreamtech Press, New Delhi, first
edition 2000
Kothari ,C.R,(1999) Research Methodology, Wish prakashan, Second Edition: New
Delhi 2001
Raguthamam, R(2006), The Subsidy,-government physic portal, issue vol1, 2006
Chandra, Mahesh(2008), Subsidies New movements , issue 1, 2008
WEBSITES:
www.hpcl.com/brochures/experience
www.bpcl.com/news letters
www.govtofindia.com/civilsupplies/ subsidies
www.timesofindia.com/news on DBTL.

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