Petrol prices may be cut by as much as Rs 1-1.50 per litre next week on falling international oil rates and appreciating rupee but a one-time hike in diesel and possibly LPG rates is still on the cards.
The ministry is in consultation with various other stakeholders and ministries on this and the department of financial services was working on the proposal.
We will now get CAG to do the audit for the last 3-4 years, says the secretary.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, which had at the end of its first sitting with RIL in January suspended the audit of spending on the flagging KG-D6 block following differences with RIL over scope and extent of the scrutiny, is likely to resume it next two weeks.
The J-20 fighter prototype, a 5th generation combat aircraft built by China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry, made its first flight on January 11, 2011. This necessitates a re-evaluation of the IAF's procurement of 4th generation medium fighters, which is close to being finalised. Ajai Shukla reports
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.
The government is considering a 3-rupee to 5-rupee hike in the price of diesel, which accounts for more than 40 percent of fuel use, government officials said last week, as the country looks to cut import costs by nearly $20 billion to trim a record current account deficit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved composition of the 7th Pay Commission, which will revise the salaries of over 50 lakh Central government employees.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) had recommended to the ministry that RIL be asked to give up 86% of its KG-D6 gas block area
Finance Minister P Chidambaram had last week stated that there were demands from 'several chief ministers' for raising the quota of subsidised cylinders and the government 'will look into' them.
An empowered group of ministers headed by Defence Minister A K Antony is to consider an Oil Ministry proposal of abolishing the priority ranking later in the day, according to which natural gas is first given to urea manufacturing fertiliser plants, then to LPG units, followed by power plants, city gas, steel and refineries.
His background as an Indian Institute of Technology graduate and as a chief minister with an excellent track record as an administrator equipped him to initiate defence industry and policy reforms that are only now beginning to bear fruit.
The armed forces are seeking an enhancement of allowances for their personnel posted in "hardship" areas on the pattern of high-altitude Siachen in Jammu and Kashmir.
D K Sarraf replaces Vasudeva, who turned 60 on Tuesday and is due to superannuate on Friday.
State-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) are likely to buy a 10 per cent stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) from the government at Rs 220 per share, aggregating about Rs 5,300 crore (Rs 53 billion).
Upstream firms pay for a portion of fuel subsidies by extending discounts on crude oil they sell to refiners who are forced by the government to sell diesel and cooking fuel at rates lower than cost of production.
The terms are the same as those suggested by a panel headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan for awarding future oil and gas block contracts.
In a presentation to investors in Mumbai last week, Aramane Giridhar, Joint Secretary (Exploration) gave detailed reasons for pendency of decisions in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas where officials approved of decisions but refused to issue formal orders, resulting in delays in production of oil and gas.
Government gives 3 months, starting June, for the 20 districts to be covered under its direct benefits transfer scheme.
The government on Friday cleared disinvestment in two bluechip state-owned companies IOC and Bhel, which would fetch over Rs 7,300 crore (Rs 73 billion) to the exchequer in the current fiscal.
The chairman of the committee, A K Mathur, sought abolishment of the two-year edge accorded to the IAS officers for empanelment, compared to other services, saying it was an 'archaic concept'.
Currently, an IAS and IFS officer are accorded a pay advantage or financial edge.
The Department of Disinvestment, which is looking at mopping up Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from the sale of shares in public sector units this fiscal, has raised about Rs 1,325 crore (Rs 13.25 billion) so far.
The Cabinet on Friday gave mandate to the 7th Pay Commission for revising salaries of over 50 lakh central government employees and remuneration of 30 lakh pensioners.
Government has put on auction the gas discovery area it snatched from Reliance Industries in KG-D6 block and the field that Cairn India is seeking to regain around its Rajasthan block.
The Union Cabinet in June decided to price all domestically produced natural gas at an average of the price prevailing at international gas trading hubs and the actual cost of importing liquid gas.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) might be denied a higher gas price from its D1 and D3 fields until the arbitration process with the government is over and a third-party expert report on the fall in output at the KG-D6 block is out.
Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation are losing Rs 486 crore (Rs 4.86 billion) per day as they are made to sell diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene way below cost to keep inflation under check.
An empowered group of ministers headed by Defence Minister A K Antony is to consider an Oil Ministry proposal of abolishing the priority ranking according to which natural gas is first given to urea manufacturing fertiliser plants, then to LPG units, followed by power plants, city gas, steel and refineries.
The Petroleum Ministry has asked for Rs 26,000 crore (Rs 260 billion) as fuel subsidy for the third quarter of this financial year, but the finance ministry is inclined to provide only Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) cash support.
With the Petroleum Ministry opposing disinvestment of IOC in the market, government is exploring the option of selling its shares to other oil PSUs like ONGC and OIL.
Three key babus will make room for a new set of officers to carry the baton of Budget programmes.
Under pressure from his party, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the government is considering increasing the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 per household even as hints were dropped of a one-time hike in diesel and LPG rates
The 7th Pay Commission has recommended more than doubling the 'Military Service Pay' to defence personnel, and suggested that Short Service Commissioned Officers should be allowed to exit the Armed Forces at any point in time between 7 and 10 years of service.
Its 'failure not just affects the military's effectiveness but could also be politically vulnerable for the BJP,' observes Ajai Shukla.
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The five discoveries -- D4, D7, D8, D16 and D23 - hold 0.805 trillion cubic feet of reserves, or about one-fourth of the restated reserves in the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) fields in KG-D6 block, and are worth $10 billion.
TCS, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma,Tata Motors and HDFC among the top losers for the day
According to an official close to the development, in the coming financial audit report, to be tabled in Parliament's Budget session next year, CAG will detail the slide in the government's share in petroleum sector profits due to a drop in gas production.
Describing DBT for LPG as a 'tremendous success,' Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the programme, when implemented throughout the country, would help save Rs 8,000-9,000 crore (Rs 80-90 billion) of subsidy from going to unintended beneficiaries.
The notes argue that it will widen the talent base available to govt to deliver increasingly complex services to a demanding population.
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