The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Union Government and others on two separate petitions by a pharmaceutical company and an association of medicine manufacturing companies challe

The row over the proposed increase in natural gas prices is set to flare up because the petroleum ministry has admitted that the producer price in the new regime starting April 2014 would be at lea

The ministry will now have to come up with a revised Cabinet note, with fresh suggestions from other ministries

The fertiliser ministry, in a note to the EGoM on domestic natural gas pricing, suggested that gas should not be priced more than $6 mmBtu.

Rs 60,352-cr impact on power, urea makers; FinMin comes up with its own formula

Even before an empowered group of ministers starts deliberating on a revision in natural gas prices, the finance, power and fertiliser ministries have raised a red flag on the recommendations of the Rangarajan panel. Only the Planning Commission seems to be in agreement with the committee’s proposal to use a proposed formula as “an interim or transitional solution” till March 2017.

The Planning Commission has recommended switching to the international pricing formula for natural gas — which presently works out to $14.5 per MBTU, almost three times more than the present price

After fertiliser, the power ministry has also opposed the recommendations made by the Rangarajan panel to increase domestic gas price from the current $4.2/mmbtu to $8.8/mmbtu, saying it will impact the power sector by about R46,360 crore annually.

The gas supplies to the sector have completely halted from the KG D6 block of Reliance Industries, which recently hit an all-time low of 15.5 mmscmd from a peak of 69.43 mmscmd in March 2010.

The government is planning to hire a consultant to assess the impact of subsidy on crop nutrients after the introduction of the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme in 2010.

Fertilizer ministry alleges that GSFC did not pass on subsidy benefit to farmers

The Union chemicals & fertilisers ministry has discontinued the fertiliser subsidy for producing ammonium sulphate (caprolactum grade) to Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (GSFC), blaming GSFC for not passing subsidy benefits to farmers. “In spite of getting subsidy under the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) policy, the maximum retail price (MRP) fixed by the company continued to remain at the same level

Fertiliser min to oppose planned move to give priority to power sector

The oil ministry’s intent to give priority to the power sector for allocation of gas has raised an alarm in the fertiliser ministry. Sources have indicated that the fertiliser ministry will strongly oppose the move when oil ministry circulates the a note on gas allocation for approval of the empowered group of ministers’ (EGoM). It is also likely to seek higher priority for the fertliser sector so that benefits of cheaper fuel reach the country’s farming community.