The 12-digit unique number that the UIDAI will generate will be combined with the the smart card project of the Oil Ministry for distribution of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG through biometric identification of beneficiaries.
In line with the industry expectations, the government has indicated that it is actively considering extension of the NBS regime to cover urea.
The government indecisiveness on petroleum price rise, coupled with late release of cash subsidy, has sent the borrowings of three government-controlled oil marketing companies to an all-time high of around Rs 118,000 crore (Rs 1,180 billion).
Responding to a series of questions on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir during Question Hour, Shah also asserted that not a single person has died in police firing after August 5 when the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir was scrapped.
This Budget, the finance ministry may consider a proposal for a seed fund that would provide financial support to states willing to sell items other than foodgrain, sugar and kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS). The move, experts believe, will help reigning in food inflation that remains in double digits, despite moderation.
The government has no plans to increase petrol and diesel prices even though international crude rates have touched $100 per barrel, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy said in Panipat on Tuesday.
Fifty-six months on, the government's record in implementing these schemes and projects has been mixed, report Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana.
Mumbai attack martyr Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan's uncle, who attempted self immolation to protest the government's alleged apathy in treating victims of the 26/11 strike, succumbed to injuries, police said on Saturday. K Mohanan, 56, who had suffered 98 per cent burn injuries, died at 11.55 pm on Friday night at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi. While undergoing treatment, he had also suffered a heart attack.
An additional district collector was on Tuesday burnt alive, allegedly by members of the petrol and diesel mafia, at Manmad in Maharashtra's Nashik district. Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane was accompanied by his personal assistant and driver when the shocking incident took place at a roadside dhaba near Manmad town, nearly 260 km from Mumbai. Preliminary reports say Sonawane had gone there to conduct a raid on the petrol and diesel mafia.
Economists said the full cascading impact of the sharp raise in diesel, LPG and kerosene prices announced on May 24, would be visible from July onwards when inflation could touch the double digit mark.
In 2002, Mukundan started manufacturing Venus kerosene burners that reduce fuel usage by 30 per cednt. From 2,000 burners in the first month, today Servals sells 120,000 such burners every month.
If June 2010 diesel price is taken as the base, then the increase is a mere 2 per cent. By contrast, petrol prices have gone up by 23 per cent in the same period.
Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy said these measures would cost the government Rs 49,000 crore in the current financial year.
This is the tenth hike in the price of petrol in just over a year. With this hike, inflation is likely to rise sharply once again.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday opposed the fresh hike in fuel prices, saying it will put the common man in great difficulty.
Indian Army officers, serving and retired, will tell you that the one thing that makes the Indian soldier singularly unique is his josh and jazba.
OMCs are currently incurring daily under-recovery of Rs 230 crore.
A week after the steep hike in petrol prices by Rs 5 a litre, the government on Monday said a ministerial panel is likely to meet in the next few days to take a decision on raising diesel, LPG and kerosene rates.
In a move that may spook Oil and Natural Gas Corp's (ONGC) planned public offering, the government has hiked the contribution of upstream oil companies toward fuel subsidies to 38.8 per cent for 2010-11 fiscal.
35-year-old K Mohanan, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, had poured kerosene on his body and set himself on fire outside Gate No 4 of Parliament House near Vijay Chowk on Thursday evening.
The government must be complimented for finally showing some determination in biting the bullet on petroleum prices. It must now stand its ground and ride the wave of political protests that are bound to be staged by an Opposition waiting to return to relevance.
If you live outside Patna, you ought to have a lantern in your house. Large parts of Bihar go without electricity for days, thanks to the massive power shortage the state faces. With power generation options looking bleak in the distant future, Bihar continues to live in the dark on sundown. M I Khan reports
Declining crude price translates into lower under-recoveries for OMCs
The revenue loss, termed as under-recovery by oil firms, will be the highest-ever.
Oil prices have risen as freezing weather in the northern hemisphere has increased energy demand for heating.
Upstream oil firms bear one-third of the revenue that retailers lose on selling diesel, domestic LPG and Kerosene at government-controlled rates.
Villages engulfed by darkness have a ray of hope with ONergy offering poor villagers have with a complete range of solar products.
A 14-year old girl, who was allegedly gang raped by five men of her village, set herself ablaze in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura District on Tuesday.
'The price increases, particularly in respect of cooking gas, that is domestic LPG and PDS kerosene, have been quite minimal.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged that the government's contention of oil companies going insolvent if prices of petro products were not increased was wrong and backed its argument by providing profit figures of the three oil PSUs in the country.
K Mohanan, a native of Kozhikode in Kerala, poured kerosene on his body and set himself afire outside Gate No 4 of Parliament House near Vijay Chowk at around 6 pm.
With Opposition parties calling for a nationwide strike against the hike in fuel prices, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Wednesday justified the decision, saying the increase translated to less than Re 1 per day on domestic LPG and 26-27 paisa a day on kerosene.
The government on Monday approved Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) in cash subsidy to state-owned fuel retailers to make up for half of the revenues they lost on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene below cost in the third quarter.
Petrol will cost Rs 3.73 per litre more from today (Friday), while diesel prices have been increased by Rs 2 a litre. Also, your cooking gas cylinder will now cost Rs 35 more, while kerosene will be priced Rs 3 per litre more.
Implementation of Kirit Parikh Committee recommendations looks bleak and the industry's expectation that all petroleum products including crude oil & natural gas should be included under GST is set to be turned down.
Self-styled godman Nityananda Swami has courted fresh trouble for allegedly using kerosene meant for poor families during his meditation for 'penance' and may face a seven-year jail term if convicted.
Facing criticism for increasing the retail price of petrol, government-owned Indian Oil Corporation has said the desired increase was actually Rs 3.72 a litre but it chose to "soften the impact on customer" by increasing the price by only Rs 2.50 a litre.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is also believed to be in favour of decontrolling auto fuel prices to limit the government's subsidy outgo but a decision is unlikely in the next 7-10 days as United Progressive Alliance managers build political consensus on the issue, an oil ministry official said.
Sources said both Mukherjee and Deora were in favour of Rs 2-3 a litre hike in petrol and diesel prices and Rs 25 per cylinder increase in LPG rates.
The Congress core group is meeting later in the evening where the implementation of Kirit Parikh Committee report on fuel pricing reforms may be discussed.
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