India, the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, recently offered Saudi Aramco a stake in refineries and petrochemical projects.

India has already pipped Japan as the world's third-largest oil consumer.

Officials from India's biggest private refiner recently visited Iran to chalk out the details for resumption of trade ties with Tehran.

Iran has complained of irregular shipments

Tehran plans to lift exports by 500,000 barrels per day

The richest Hindu temple in the world could soon come to the rescue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to recycle tonnes of idle gold and cut economy-hurting imports.

The government freed diesel pricing last October, providing a level playing field to private companies like Reliance and Essar Oil.

India has asked refiners that owe about $6.5 billion to Iran for oil imports to build up dollar and euro balances to avoid downward pressure on the rupee if six world powers and Tehran reach a final nuclear deal.

The shift comes as the gap between the international benchmark Brent and the Middle East price marker narrows

Locally produced gas in India will now cost at least 8 per cent less.

India's imports from Iran rose to 250,200 barrels per day

India's Iran imports rise to 276,800 bpd vs 195,600 bpd in 2013.

Diesel makes up nearly half of fuel demand in Asia's No 3 economy.

These refineries, commissioned mostly in the 1950s and 1960s during India's early industrialisation push, are inefficient and costly to maintain compared to their modern counterparts on the coast mainly operated by private companies.

This is perhaps the first time that retail prices in India are higher than the global rates

Reliance Industries has sought environment ministry approval for a $13 billion upgrade to its Jamnagar complex, including a 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery.

The government will decide in August whether to sell a 5 percent stake in ONGC, a senior oil ministry official said, in a deal that would be worth $2.9 billion at current market prices.

The shutdown of the gasoline making units would result in the production of high sulphur gasoline that cannot be sold in India.

Reliance imported about 1.09 million bpd in January as it had cut runs at its older 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant by about 23 per cent from a year ago.

India has asked bulk buyers to pay market rates for diesel since last January and has also been raising the price of subsidised diesel in small amounts every month in an effort to cut its ballooning fuel subsidies.