Move ensures uninterrupted urea supply to Indian market Govt not to drag Gulf nation to International Tribunal

The government has accepted the proposal seeking hike in prices of gas supplied by Oman to an Indian fertiliser plant in the Gulf nation to $1.5 per mmBtu for this year, a move that will ensure uninterrupted supply of urea to the Indian market.

New Delhi Oman has halved the price at which it will sell natural gas to an Indian fertiliser plant in the Gulf nation to $1.5 per mmBtu but has added an annual escalation clause.

Oman, which had previously proposed to raise rates of gas sold to OMIFCO’s urea manufacturing facility at Sur to $3 per million instead of present price of $0.77 per mmBtu, has revised its offer to charge $1.5 per mmBtu, sources in know of the development said.

Fertiliser ministry has sent a proposal to finance ministry for creating a sovereign wealth fund.

The Union Cabinet will soon take a call on the vexed issue of whether to go for international arbitration at a London tribunal against Oman, which raised natural gas price from 77 cents to $3 per unit, leading to a sharp rise in the price of fertiliser imported by India under a long-term off-take agreement.

The finance ministry has rejected a request for increasing the price of urea imported from Omifco, an equal joint venture of Indian and Oman firms, in line with the higher gas price implemented by the Arab nation at the beginning of this year.

The medicine price regulator, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), has found a price fixing mechanism suggested by its parent ministry, chemicals and fertilisers, has failed to meaningfully lower the prices of key cancer medicines.

A group of ministers (GoM) headed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is expected to meet soon to finalise a pricing policy on drugs.

Tuesday's meeting to examine the pricing policy prepared by ministry of chemicals & fertilisers

On Tuesday, a group of ministers (GoM) led by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar will examine the proposed National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy (NPPP) prepared by the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.

A high-level panel constituted by the health ministry is likely to suggest a system of negotiated prices for all new medicines approved in the country. The proposal to control the launch prices of drugs comes at a time when the chemicals and fertilisers ministry, responsible for deciding medicine prices, is busy preparing a national pharmaceutical pricing policy covering all essential medicines.

New Delhi: The fertilisers ministry has opposed the petroleum ministry’s move to snap supply of cheaper gas from RIL’s Andhra offshore field to units manufacturing potassic and phosphatic fertilise

Secy to seek funds in addition to . 67700cr already received this fiscal year.

The fertiliser industry is seeking a higher cap on urea cost than the proposed $340 a tonne for the purpose of calculating subsidy to the new plants.

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