The government cleared the proposal despite opposition from the petroleum ministry, which says this is not the right time for divestment as the sector is moving from trade parity to export parity pricing.
Govt notification on $8.4 a unit price likely by month-end
The Oil Ministry has proposed raising natural gas prices by at least 60 per cent, a move that will result in rise in urea as well as power costs.
There will be no change in LPG and kerosene rates, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters in New Delhi after the meeting on Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. "I am happy to inform the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided to raise the cap on subsidised LPG to nine cylinders per household in a year from existing six cylinders," he said.
The current price is among the lowest in Asia Pacific.
L K Advani, Venkiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley, launched a blistering attack on government after PM Manmoha Singh's speech in Parliament on Friday. Jaitley asked Defence Minister A K Antony to explain how he got Rs 1,000 crores cleared up defence purchases bypassing the Cabinet Committee on Security, while stressing on indiginisation of defence production.
Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday summoned a special session of the federal cabinet amidst reports that two ministers belonging to the ruling coalition partner Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan have resigned after their party announced that it will support Opposition's no-confidence motion.
The decision to increase the MSPs (Minimum Support Prices) was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. MSP is the rate at which the government buys the grain from farmers. Currently, the government fixes MSPs for 23 crops grown in both kharif and rabi seasons. Sowing of rabi (winter) crops begins from October immediately after the harvest of kharif (summer) crops.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs may this week decide to price all domestically produced natural gas as per a formula suggested by a panel headed by Prime Minister's economic advisor C Rangarajan.
The move came a day after Parliament approved two agriculture sector-reform bills which have been bitterly opposed by the opposition parties like Congress and TMC.
The commission asks for notification to be deferred; RIL's KG-D6 pricing issue may return to Cabinet
A planned stake sale in Coal India in the last financial year had to be deferred after stiff opposition from the trade unions.
Cracking down further on hoarding, the Centre on Wednesday put onion and potato under purview of the Essential Commodities Act and imposed stock holding limits in a bid to improve availability and rein in prices.
Influential Patel community leader Parshottam Rupala, minister in the first Narendra Modi government Mansukh Mandaviya and three-time MP Darshana Jardosh, all from Gujarat, were among those inducted in the Union cabinet on Wednesday.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had first on June 27, 2013, and then on December 19, 2013, decided to price all domestically produced natural gas, including unconventional fuels such as coal-bed methane and shale gas, at an average of international hub rates and the cost of importing liquefied natural gas.
Stoutly defending the hike in gas prices, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the move would benefit the government in terms of revenue as many gas discoveries have been made by public sector companies rather than private sector.
RIL has more than half a dozen undeveloped discoveries.
Announcing the decision after the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Finance Minister P Chiadambaram said this is an ad-hoc measure and the recommendation of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices has been referred to the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council. The CACP had recommended the paddy MSP at Rs 1,000 per quintal for 2008-09 Kharif season.
India will launch an all out effort to isolate Pakistan and all diplomatic efforts will be launched in this regard
Prices have declined 18 per cent this year.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Hike would have led to higher cost of fertiliser, electricity and even CNG.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the implementation of the national policy on biofuels.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday released its manifesto for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls, promising a monthly assistance of Rs 2,100 for women, two lakh government jobs for the youth and guaranteed government job for Agniveers hailing from the state.
'We are going to need more technical people in government.' 'You can't expect a generalist to understand the complicated world of financial engineering.' 'I regret to say that most of our politicians have no competence to deal with these things. Nor is there a willingness to learn.'
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Following adverse media reaction to the June 27 decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the finance ministry had issued an office memorandum asking the petroleum ministry to see if there was a way to make RIL clear its gas supply backlog at the existing price.
Days after the Cabinet approved doubling of natural gas price from April next year, the Finance Ministry has written to Oil Ministry suggesting setting of a ceiling or an upper limit for the rates.
The Indian National Lok Dal will contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, senior party leader Abhay Singh Chautala said on Thursday.
RIL has proposed to charge the government- fixed rate for natural gas on a gross calorific value (GCV) basis, instead of net calorific value (NCV).
A decision on raising diesel prices by Rs 3-5 per litre, kerosene by Rs 2 and LPG by up to Rs 50 per cylinder will be taken after UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi returns from US, top government officials said.
The projected output will come from satellite fields in the eastern offshore KG-D6 block as well as North East Coast block NEC-25, off the West Bengal coast.
The ministry had sent a draft proposal for the consideration of the Empowered Group of Ministers to price all domestically produced natural gas -- be of state-run ONGC or private sector Reliance Industries - as per the formula suggested by the Rangarajan Committee.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliament Affairs has recommended that the winter session of the Parliament be held from November 29 to December 23, sources said on Monday.
To proceed with a Cabinet proposal to grant the relaxations to RIL, the Election Commission's approval will be sought.
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.
Dr Murali Manohar Joshi, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, has demanded that Home Minister P Chidambaram should be dropped from the cabinet for his alleged misdeeds in leaking the PAC report, sending wrong data of most-wanted persons to Pakistan, his role in the 2G spectrum scam and for the rise in fuel prices when he was the finance minister.
Food Corporation of India will be the nodal agency.
Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) leader Lalduhoma was sworn in as the chief minister of Mizoram on Friday.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs has approved a hike in gas prices from April 2014.
