Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan dashes bullion firms' duty cut hopes.
The new rates, which are likely to be at $8-8.4 against the current price of $4.2 per million British thermal unit, are based on the recommendations of a committee that was appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the request of Moily's predecessor, S Jaipal Reddy.
'Tax cuts will have only marginal effects in the short run and significant positive effects in the medium term,' says Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
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Raghuram Rajan, who took over as RBI Governor on September 4, is scheduled to unveil on Friday mid-quarter monetary policy review, an event keenly awaited by industry and banks.
The Prime Ministry's Economic Advisory Council Chairman also said fiscal deficit is a concern too and suggested raising domestic oil prices to restrict it to the budget target of 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product in this fiscal.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the government will decide on extension of his tenure.
"I think the Governor has been doing a great job for the country and we would certainly see it as a very positive move if he were reappointed," Naushad Forbes, president, CII.
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.
Disagreeing with Reserve Bank's projection on the price situation, former RBI Governor and PM's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan said WPI and CPI may not be as high as being projected by the central bank.
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Business leaders met Manmohan Singh to discuss the problems facing the country.
Narendra Modi's landslide victory gives him the mandate to deregulate diesel prices as well as raise natural gas rates with a clear road map towards free pricing to cut subsidies and shrink the budget deficit.
While markets are upbeat over the government decision to nearly double the price of domestically produced natural gas, industry wants it to clearly lay the roadmap for free market pricing regime.
The global rating agency expects the economy to pick up in the next two financial years.
Experts believe scrapping some projects is likely to bring some stability in road sector.
Growth is going to be an important factor in contributing high tax revenue and in containing the fiscal deficit.
'Trust your new governor,' Omkar Goswami advises RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya. 'Just because he is from the IAS and doesn't carry a PhD from a US university does not make him unsuitable for the task.' 'If anything, Das will pour oil on troubled waters, and save the RBI's reputation.'
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.
In the January, 2013 Cabinet note on revision of prices of all domestically produced natural gas, the ministry had proposed immediate implementation of the formula suggested by a panel, headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan, for all producers except in cases where the current rate is valid for a certain period.
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.
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 previous United Progressive Alliance government had last year approved pricing of all forms of domestically produced gas at according to a formula suggested by a panel headed by C Rangarajan.
Prime Minister's key economic advisor C Rangarajan on Friday lowered the growth forecast for the current fiscal to 5.3 per cent from 6.4 per cent projected earlier and listed out host of measures including further liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms to improve economic condition.
The government recently announced a new formula for determining the price of natural gas, lowering it from $8.4 suggested by the C Rangarajan committee.
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The CPI(M) on Thursday slammed the Planning Commission estimates on poverty levels in the country, saying these made "a mockery of life and death struggles" of the people, amidst continuous rise in prices and "massive" slashing of subsidies for the poor.
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.
Rangarajan said that growth has many dimensions to it.
Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan may have found the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s inflation projections on the higher side, but independent experts agree with the central bank and expect both wholesale and retail prices to remain high.
Since 2004, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, one of the commission's longest serving deputy chairmen, has been trying to mould it to fit into the new economic order, without much to show for his efforts.
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Prime Minister's key economic advisor C Rangarajan on Friday lowered the growth forecast for the current fiscal to 5.3 per cent from 6.4 per cent projected earlier and listed out host of measures, including further liberalisation of FDI norms to improve economic condition.
Earlier this week, the ministry had come out with a clarification, saying domestic gas producers had to stick to the earlier price of $4.2 a unit until a further notification from the new government.
Road developers hoping for early relief from the government will have to wait longer.
Rangarajan, who was answering questions on onion prices touching Rs 100 per kg in some cities, said the impact on inflation would not last long.
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The stock market responded to his speech by going up by over two per cent; the rupee also gained in strength, by about 1.45 per cent, against the dollar.
RIL, which has faced numerous delays in getting approvals and shifting goal-posts, said the country did not have a stable policy regime and this was responsible for exit of global energy giants like Royal Dutch Shell, BHP Biliton of Australia, Statoil of Norway and Brazil's Petrobras.
A new formula for pricing natural gas in the domestic market was determined; the decontrol of diesel prices was announced; and the scheme that directly transferred subsidies to bank accounts of users of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders was modified and relaunched.
RIL has been selling gas from KG-D6 at the same price since it started production in April 2009.
The mood at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is festive, with one of its alumnii, Raghuram Rajan taking over as the next Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor.
His finest years came when he served as deputy governor under C Rangarajan.
Govt notification on $8.4 a unit price likely by month-end
Country's economic growth at 9% requires exports to rise by around 20%, says NSC chairman Pronab Sen
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