The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic divestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
Among the new entrants to the Union cabinet, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been given the agriculture and rural development portfolios, Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda the health portfolio and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar the power portfolio.
Several people are still feared trapped in the debris after a series of landslides that occurred in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad.
ONGC will submit a proposal to the Union government for acquiring Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's entire 16.97% stake in Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd at Rs 37.75 per share even though HPCL is not keen to divest its holding.
Here is the complete list of ministers in Modi 3.0 and their portfolios:
RIL said it had launched 'an internal probe' into its staff's detention.
Satish Sharma was a Gandhi family loyalist and was among those who mentored Rahul Gandhi in his early days in politics. He died in Goa at 73.
Union oil and petroleum minister Ram Naik will travel to Tehran to discuss the prospect of importing liquefied natural gas and to boost bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.
The limited availability of flexible (flex)-fuel vehicles in the Indian market and the slow rollout of ethanol-blended petrol by oil-marketing companies (OMCs) remain major obstacles to achieving widespread use of biofuels in the transportation sector in India. Recently, two Union ministers have emphasised India's biofuel potential, arguing that it has the capacity and potential to lead a transition towards widespread biofuel adoption. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari signalled that this transition is well underway and urged car manufacturers to quickly adapt and introduce new biofuel-run vehicles, lest the government resort to taxing diesel vehicles.
Capital expenditure (capex) by 54 large central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and five departmental arms with an annual capex target of Rs 100 crore and above has reached around 42.5 per cent of their annual target of about Rs 7.33 trillion in this financial year so far, a senior official from the Ministry of Finance told Business Standard. "The Centre is pushing the big public undertakings in the infrastructure and refinery sector to achieve 90 per cent of their target by the end of the third quarter," he said. The capex by this group of CPSEs stands at around Rs 3.1 trillion in the April-August period so far.
Rebuffing petroleum ministry, Siddaramaiah launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana-like scheme months before state polls
The Centre will soon write to the states to bring uniformity in the Value Added Tax on oil products so that benefits of price cuts filter down to the masses.
Custom duties, a major concern for the oil sector.
The FIR by the ACB was registered a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the agency has been told to probe their alleged collusion over hike in prices of natural gas from KG basin.
According to data compiled by BS Research Bureau for BSE 100 companies, seven public sector companies -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bank of India, Union Bank, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and GAIL -- have reduced their employee costs ranging from one per cent to 21 per cent.
The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday ordered an inquiry into the Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline blast at Nagaram village in East Godavari district, in which 14 persons were killed.
Though the international crude prices were going up, the United Progressive Alliance government's approach was that the subsidy on petroleum products should continue as in the case of food and fertilisers.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and tied a rakhi on his wrist.
Russia has welcomed India's decision to not support the price cap on Russian oil announced by G7 and its allies and offered it cooperation on leasing and building large-capacity ships to overcome the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering in the European Union and Britain to continue buying discounted oil. The offer came as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Moscow, Pavan Kapoor, on Friday. "The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed India's decision not to support the price cap on Russian oil, which was imposed on December 5 by the G7 countries and their allies," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
BC Tripathi, who helms India's largest natural gas marketer and transporter -- GAIL, discusses last-mile connectivity to homes with Jyoti Mukul and Shine Jacob.
According to an Andhra government statement, Naidu 'reposed confidence' in the PM's leadership.
The union government is planning to release about 5.5 crore new LPG connections over the next five years, petroleum and natural gas minister Murli Deora said.
Pradhan met Energy Secretary Rick Perry during an unscheduled trip to the US Capitol and discussed energy cooperation between India and the US, Indian investment in Liquefied natural gas and shale sectors, and the possibility of the US exporting LNG to India from early next year.
Capital expenditure by 54 large central public sector enterprises and five departmental arms, having a capex minimum target of Rs 100 crore, rose 93 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the April-May period to Rs 1.39 trillion. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Railways have started this financial year's capex cycle on a stronger note. In the first two months of FY24, the 54 CPSEs, along with the departmental arms, achieved 19 per cent of their combined budget target of Rs 7.33 trillion, Business Standard has learnt.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday took a swipe at the BJP over the cut in excise duties on petrol and diesel, saying the results of the 30 assembly and three Lok Sabha by-elections have "produced a by-product".
In a move that may boost the Indian hydrocarbon industry and bring more investments into the sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to give marketing freedom to domestic crude oil producers, allowing them to sell petroleum to any company in the local market. The move is set to be beneficial for major crude oil producers, such as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, and private sector majors like Vedanta's Cairn Oil and Gas and Reliance Industries. As of May 31, India was dependent on imports for 86 per cent of its crude oil consumption; domestic production sufficed the remaining 14 per cent demand.
Subir Raha, the former chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has been awarded the prestigious 'Energy Executive of the Year' award instituted by London-based renowned energy journal Petroleum Economist.\n\n
Subir Raha, the former chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has been short-listed for the prestigious "Energy Executive of the Year" award instituted by London-based renowed energy journal 'Petroleum Economist'.
The Group of Ministers, set up to look into the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, met on Monday for discussion with Union ministry secretary-level officers.
He will lay foundation stone for the 'Urja Ganga' project, aimed at providing piped natural gas to all the households in the city.
Ministry returns guarantee saying new price has not been notified and RIL would have to submit surety as and when it is announced.
The retrospective tax controversy was highlighted by Vodafone, but Cairn Plc's continuing problems point to the impact this law has had on FDI in India's oil and gas sector.
Over 30 persons were taken into custody at two different places by police when they tried to stop the convoy of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, S Jaipal Reddy, and State Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy who were on their way to Gangirala village in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday.
State-owned oil firms such as ONGC and IOC will invest over Rs 1.11 lakh crore in the next fiscal year starting April as they supplement the government's massive spending programme to spur economic growth. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) will together make a 7.4 per cent higher capital expenditure in the 2022-23 fiscal (FY23). The capex spending of Rs 1.11 lakh crore in 2022-23 compares with a revised estimate of Rs 1.04 lakh crore for the current fiscal year that ends in March, according to Union budget documents.
Dharmendra Pradhan lays bare the next course of action for his ministry and says RIL will have to pay the same price at which it produced the volumes.
The PM launched the multi-disciplinary sporting event through a video conference facility.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are not on talking terms with expelled leader Jaswant Singh after he refused to resign from the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament, Union minister Murli Deora claimed on Friday. The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister, who is heading a high-level delegation to London, said senior BJP leaders, including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murali Manohar Joshi, are not on talking terms with their former colleague.