Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) may sell a part of its stake in Petronet LNG and Indraprastha Gas (IGL) to shed its promoter status to obviate the need for its new owner to make open offers for the two gas companies, sources said. BPCL holds 12.5 per cent of shareholding in India's largest liquefied natural gas importer, Petronet, and a 22.5 per cent stake in city gas retailer, IGL. It is a promoter of both the listed companies and holds board positions. As per the legal position evaluated by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) - the department running the process for sale of government's entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL - the acquirer of BPCL will have to make an open offer to the minority shareholders of Petronet and IGL for acquisition of 26 per cent shares, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) on Tuesday hiked petrol prices by about Rs 2.96 a litre effective midnight tonight, and other state-owned oil companies IOC and HPCL will follow suit on Wednesday.
The wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 19-month low of 8.39 per cent in October, on easing prices of fuel and manufactured items. This is the first time in 19 months that WPI inflation print has come in single digit. Last was in March 2021 at 7.89 per cent. Since April 2021, WPI inflation remained in double digits for 18 months with September print at 10.79 per cent.
The three oil PSUs have told Air India that if it did not make the monthly lump sum payment, they will stop fuel supply from October 11 at six major domestic airports.
After a year of sluggish growth in fuel retail outlets, the three state-run oil-marketing companies--Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation--have chalked out aggressive plans for expansion in the next financial year. They will be commissioning over 2,100 outlets in 2009-10--over three times what they added in the current year--at an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore.
Global energy supermajor BP plc on Thursday said it is about to open its first 'Jio-bp' branded petrol pump in partnership with Reliance Industries near Mumbai.
The rates are hikes by almost 8 per cent.
Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second increase in LPG rate this month and the third in less than two months. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7.
Emerging markets such as India have always run higher inflation rates than developed economies such as the US and countries of Western Europe. But for the first time in the past 30 years, the US reported a higher consumer price inflation (CPI) rate than India in five consecutive months. The US reported a CPI rate of 7.5 per cent in January 2022 against 6.01 per cent in India and analysts expect the trend to continue for at least a few months more
The wholesale price-based inflation eased for the eighth consecutive month to 4.73 per cent in January on easing prices of manufactured items, fuel and power. The wholesale price-index (WPI) based inflation rate was 4.95 per cent in December 2022 and 13.68 per cent in January 2022. Inflation in food articles, however, rose to 2.38 per cent in January, from (-) 1.25 per cent in December, 2022.
The head of leading Indian bank ICICI Bank said on Monday he expected growth in the firm's retail business, which helped fuel better-than-expected third-quarter results, would continue into the fourth quarter.
The Reserve Bank on Friday retained the inflation forecast for 2023-24 at 5.4 per cent, and vowed to take timely measures to prevent any spillovers of global food and fuel price shocks. Stressing that the Reserve Bank has identified high inflation as a major risk to macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth, Governor Shaktikanta Das said the September retail inflation number may be lower than August and July prints. The headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated to 4.6 per cent in first quarter of 2023-24 as compared to 7.3 per cent in the same period a year ago.
The government has given a green signal to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's petrochemical plans but has discouraged India's largest oil and gas producer from foraying into fuel retailing.
State-owned oil companies are all set to hike petrol prices by around Rs 3 per litre which will be effective from midnight on Friday.
Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder, the third increase in rates since May on firming international energy prices. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,053 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 1,003 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Common households pay non-subsidised rates for the cooking gas they buy, after the government restricted subsidy to just poor beneficiaries who got connections under the Ujjwala scheme.
Overall retail inflation in rural and urban areas stood at 7.38 per cent and 8.25 per cent in January, respectively.
From the Sensex pack, ITC, Titan, Asian Paints, Reliance, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Nestle and ICICI Bank were the major gainers. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
Coupang, a prominent online retail giant headquartered in the United States (US), is gearing up to establish a cutting-edge technology centre in India, aiming to hire several dozen skilled professionals by the end of the year, Business Standard has learnt. The intended expansion involves the recruitment of software engineers across various domains, underscoring Coupang's commitment to extend its global reach. The Indian team will support the company's global technology team, sources said.
It is time he stood up and assured the middle class that they can count on him as one of their own, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
State-owned oil firms may hike petrol price by about Rs 0.50 per litre from June 16 as last month's steep increase in rates is not enough to cover the cost of raw material (crude oil).
One of the reasons is that the retail prices are not bench-marked to crude but their respective international benchmark prices.
Retail rates of the fuel will now reflect international movement in oil prices.
Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasada in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha said the finance ministry is yet to approve the oil bonds. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum lost Rs 11,853 crore (Rs 118.53 billion) in revenues on not being allowed to raise LPG and kerosene prices in line with the cost during April- September.
If crude prices have increased, retail petro product prices should go up.
Retail prices of gram, sugar, mustard oil, vanaspati and onion have increased by up to 11 per cent in the national capital in last one month, fueling the inflation rate to rise to 39-month high of seven per cent. The prices of gram (chana) rose by 2.7 per cent to Rs 38 per kg on April 1 as against Rs 37 a month earlier, according to the data provided by the Department of Consumer Affairs.Sugar prices increased by nearly 6 per cent at Rs 18 per kg.
LPG customers of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will continue to get cooking gas subsidy post-privatisation of the nation's second-biggest fuel retailers, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday. "Subsidy on LPG is paid to consumers directly and not to any company. So the ownership of the company that sells LPG is not of any material consequence," Pradhan told PTI. The government gives 12 cooking gas (LPG) cylinders of 14.2-kg each to households in a year at a subsidised rate.
The fuel delivery scheme mainly targets consumers that buy in bulk.
While Ambani, 66, drew nil salary from the company since the 2020-21 fiscal year, other executive directors including his cousins Nikhil and Hital are paid a salary, perquisites, allowances and commission. His three children - twins Akash and Isha (both 31) and Anant (28 years) - will get only a sitting fee and a commission on the profit earned by the firm.
Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest private sector oil firm, has sought compensation similar to what is extended to public sector fuel retailing companies
Most of them had to wind up operations due to high operating cost, expensive fuel and longer than expected gestation period.
The wholesale price-based inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month to 10.7 per cent in September on softening in prices of food, fuel and manufactured items. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was 12.41 per cent in August and 11.80 per cent in September last year. This year, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) touched a record high of 15.88 per cent in May. September is the 18th consecutive month of double-digit WPI inflation.
Only a few thousand chargers dot the Indian landscape, some in working condition, others not, with some held hostage to the power supply vagaries of local utilities, reports S Dinakar.
Reliance announced a rights issue of Rs 53,125 crore, which it said was the biggest in India.
The Petroleum Federation of India, the apex body of public and private oil firms, has submitted to the oil ministry a 100-day agenda for the new government. On top of its list is decontrol of petrol and diesel prices. Currently, public sector retailers sell auto fuel at government-dictated rates, which the private sector competition is unable to match in times of high input cost (crude oil prices).
After Rajasthan, petrol price on Thursday crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Madhya Pradesh after fuel rates were increased for the tenth day in a row. Petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 32 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. While branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, had crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, regular petrol crossed the physiological mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday, and on Thursday it went past that mark in Madhya Pradesh. In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol is priced at Rs 100.25 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.35. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
Essar Oil Ltd, India's second largest fuel retailer, has reopened about 350 petrol pumps it was forced to shut down due to heavy losses on matching petrol and diesel prices with hugely-subsidised public sector rates.
Fernandes wanted Coca-Cola Company to not just transfer 60 per cent of the shares of its Indian firm but also the formula for its concentrate to Indian shareholders.
The discount will be by way of cash back which will be credited to the buyer's account in three days from the transaction
The government will soon take a view on FDI in retail sector, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Wednesday while emphasising that focus should be on sectors like food processing where it can fuel growth and bring technology.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances