With rupee falling to new lows, losses on diesel and cooking fuel have widened to their highest levels this year, upsetting the government's subsidy maths.
The smaller cylinders will be sold at market rates.
In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram also stressed that no Congress MLA elected in the upcoming assembly polls can be poached by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa this time, saying 'our house is well-guarded' and though the 'thief' is still out there, the people 'will teach him a lesson'.
The ex-president returned to Sri Lanka on a Singapore Airlines flight.
To cut subsidy bill and reduce fiscal deficit, the previous United Progressive Alliance government had restricted the number of subsidised domestic cylinders per household to six every year in September 2012, revising it to nine the following January
The Congress surveys, at least until now, have indicated the nationalistic fervour over the Pulwama terror attack is more an effort by mainstream media outlets, like news channels and newspapers, to shape a particular narrative, when the people on the ground are still asking basic questions of livelihood, jobs and better price for farm produce.
The loss, which is made good through government subsidy, has declined since March as the rupee strengthened against the dollar and global oil prices softened.
The kerosene subsidy is expected to decline by 40 per cent from Rs 7,595 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 4,500 crore this financial year.
The loss on diesel sales has inched up marginally to Rs 8.37 a litre even as a surge in international oil rates and a weakening rupee wiped out gains from a 50 paise increase in the price of the fuel.
The government had last year excluded those with an annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh from LPG subsidy
Cheque payments will be safer; the limit for contactless card transactions hiked.
'That Modi and the BJP can continue to treat the rising and expanding middle class this way shows that they have gamed its mind quite perfectly,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Spiralling prices pinched the pocket of consumer as edible oil, fuel and many other commodities turned dearer this year amid pandemic-induced disruptions but the inflationary pressure is anticipated to ease, though marginally, in the coming months. As consumers, at retail as well as wholesale levels, are willy-nilly learning to live with the new normal of curbs to contain the spread of coronavirus infections, experts are of the view that elevated inflation is likely to stay longer. After dealing with the devastating blows from the second COVID wave, especially during the April-June period, the economy is well on the revival path but the emergence of Omicron might unsettle the recovery trajectory in the short term.
'When you need to revive the economy, when you need to revive aggregate demand, you cut taxes.' 'But what's this government doing?' 'It's increasing taxes for the middle class and the vast majority of the poor on fuel, which has a ratchet effect on most other products.'
Biju Janata Dal leader and Lok Sabha MP from Kendrapara in Odisha Baijayant Panda on Thursday demanded removal of food subsidy extended to the Parliamentarians in Parliament canteen to raise public trust and confidence in lawmakers.
Ujjwala Yojana was launched on May 1, 2016 at Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh and has so far covered 47.3 million consumers in 715 districts
The ex-PM urged the people to elect a government that upholds the Constitution of India and the principles of democracy and brings about inclusive growth for all.
Link between oil exploration and markets can be used by India to great advantage.
Project Vivaan won big at the Solar Decathlon, placing second overall (and missing the first position by a whisker). Members of the award-winning Team Shunya tell Mrigank Warrier how they built a carbon-neutral, water-neutral, energy-positive home for a family of four.
Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) on Monday filed the draft red herring prospectus with markets regulator Sebi for an initial public offer to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore. The company, which sells cooking oils under the Fortune brand, is a major player in the edible oil industry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the target date for achieving 20 per cent ethanol-blending with petrol has been advanced by five years to 2025 to cut pollution and reduce import dependence.
The calculation is based on annual usage of eight cylinders per household.
India's fuel demand in May slumped to its lowest in nine months as restrictions to curb the second wave of COVID infections stalled mobility and muted economic activity. Fuel demand fell 1.5 per cent to 15.1 million tonnes despite the low base of May 2020 and was down 11.3 per cent when compared to the previous month, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry. India was under one of the world's strictest lockdowns in May last year, which brought all mobility and economic activity to a grinding halt.
After making it available at petrol pumps, the convenient 5-kg cooking gas (LPG) cylinder will now be available at kirana stores and supermarkets in select cities.
The police have put up barricades, tippers and rolled out water cannons to prevent protesting farmers from entering Chandigarh.
Most of the farmers have brought at least two trolleys with each tractor with one of them carrying ration and other essentials and the other being used to accommodate the protesters.
The growth, however, may not indicate a major revival of economic activity.
New schemes allows consumers without Aadhaar to receive cash directly in their bank accounts
Analysts are enthused by BPCL's upstream foray and have re-rated the stock in the past couple of years.
With the rupee continuing to remain weak against the US dollar, losses on diesel have climbed to Rs 9.45 per litre, upsetting the government's subsidy maths.
For the first time in more than a decade, diesel demand has declined this fiscal as monthly price hikes and increased power generation clipped consumption, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman R S Butola said.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday alleged that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which spoke about sending corrupt Congressmen to jail, is now trying to save them.
The price of the Indian basket of crude oil jumped as much as 78 per cent to cross $50 a barrel last week, from a multi-year low of $28 in January.
Rural India was left to fend for itself by those who ruled the country earlier, Modi said in a swipe at the Congress.
The government has readied a big legislative agenda for the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning Monday even as the Opposition is raring to corner the ruling dispensation over a host of issues, including handling of the second wave of COVID-19, rise in fuel prices and farmers' stir.
FIXES BY THE GOVERNMENT: Energy price fixed, tax issues linger.
Pahal looks to cut down diversion and eliminate duplicate.
The move would help the PM Modi shape a women-centric narrative.
According to estimates, if the companies are not allowed to raise petrol rates at least Rs 5 a litre by the first fortnight of September, they might begin to suffer underrecoveries on this decontrolled auto fuel, too -- for the first time this financial year.
Of the 40 CEOs polled from across the country, 60 per cent identified a fractured electoral mandate as a bigger risk than trade wars, volatile oil prices, and inflation.
