The Cabinet on Friday approved a proposal for allowing Indian Oil Corporation to charter ships for importing oil.
The Cabinet also gave its approval to a proposal for providing guarantees to Indian financial institutions negotiating with the foreign stakeholders to settle Dabhol Power Company's overseas debt.
While the Cabinet deferred a proposal to settle the outstanding dues of the former Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which also met today, put off a plan to sell the government's residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd. Writing off DESU's dues will cost the government Rs 3,449 crore (Rs 34.49 billion).
The Cabinet, however, did not discuss the petrol and diesel price hikes. It okayed the setting up of the second administrative reforms commission and earmarked a sum of Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) towards the expenditure of the commission.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy said, "The commission, consisting of a chairperson, four members and a member-secretary, will act as a commission of inquiry and give recommendations in the field of administrative reforms.
A group of ministers will finalise the areas that may be looked into by the commission, which is expected to submit its report within one year of its constitution.
Indian Oil Corporation will be the only beneficiary of the move to allow direct oil import through chartered ships.
Other companies, like Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd, will continue to depend upon Transchart (an agency under the shipping ministry) and the Shipping Corporation of India for meeting their chartering requirements.
"The direct oil import facility has been allowed to IOC on an experimental basis and a final decision will be taken after a year," Reddy said.
Other proposals approved included a review of the progress made in filling the backlog vacancies for schedule castes and tribes and renaming Nagpur international airport as Dr BR Ambedkar airport.
The CCEA also approved a proposal for devising a scheme for strengthening the distribution network of public distribution system.
