Post ContentIndianOil One has seen over four million downloads in the last 30 days, as per Sensor Tower. (Image: Google Play Store)
IndianOil One, the energy giant’s LPG gas cylinder-booking app, has risen to the top of Google Play Store and Apple App Store charts in India amid the ongoing war in West Asia.
In the last few days, the app has overtaken OpenAI’s ChatGPT to claim the No 1 spot on both free app rankings as Indian consumers reel from the supply chain shockwaves sparked by the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for energy supply. The app still held the top spot on Sunday morning, March 15.
Google Play Store top charts. (Screenshot: Google Play Store)Apple App Store top downloaded charts. (Screenshot: Apple App Store)
LPG distribution centres in Indian cities have witnessed endless queues in the last week, with restaurants and eateries across the country shuttering or truncating their menu as cooking gas supplies tighten and prices climb sharply.
There has also been a rise in instances of black marketing and hoarding of LPG cylinders, and Indian consumers flocking to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart in search of induction cooktops and other electric alternatives.
Both LPG and PNG are used as cooking fuels. While India has over 33.4 crore households with LPG connections, the number of households with PNG connections is around 1.5 crore. Unlike LPG, where fuel comes in a portable cylinder, PNG involves pipeline connectivity.
According to data shared by Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Sujata Sharma, average LPG bookings by households averaged at 55.7 lakh cylinders in the April-February period of the current financial year, but the number jumped over 35% to 75.7 lakh on Thursday, March 12.
IndianOil One is a free-to-download app that can be used to book LPG cylinders, track cylinder deliveries, get a new LPG connection, change distributor, and more. It can also be used to find the nearest petrol station or LPG distributor through its dynamic search feature.
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IndianOil One app downloads in last 30 days. (Screenshot: Sensor Tower)
The app has seen over four million downloads in the last 30 days, as per the latest data from app analysis site SensorTower. For context, the figure is considerably higher than other IOCL-developed apps such as IndianOil PNG which has also seen more than 100,000 downloads so far on Google Play.
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The panic booking of domestic LPG cylinders has even caused some online booking platforms to ‘crash’. In Punjab, for instance, a surge in bookings, nearly 30 to 40 per cent higher than normal, caused a local online booking system to stop functioning, preventing new bookings from being processed, The Indian Express previously reported.
