Murli Deora

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: The Union government has put in motion the process of effecting a possible fuel price hike, with the Cabinet scheduled to discuss the issue on Thursday.

New Delhi: The oil ministry will make a strong pitch to unshackle petrol prices from government control and introduce a differential pricing mechanism, along with a small price increase of Re 1 a litre for diesel, when the Cabinet meets on Thursday.

In case it goes through, the proposal for deregulation will mean a jump of Rs 4.71 in the price of a litre of petrol.

Reeling under the double whammy of high inflation and rising subsidy burden, the Centre may settle for a bare minimum hike in auto and cooking fuel prices

AN INCREASE in the prices of petrol and diesel appears imminent as top Congress leaders prepare on Wednesday to ponder the Kirit Parikh panel report that has recommended radical overhaul of the fuel pricing system in the country.

A day after the Kirit Parikh committee recommended freeing of auto fuel prices and increase in kerosene and LPG prices, the Union petroleum ministry called a meeting of the public sector upstream and downstream oil companies to discuss the road ahead.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said the government was trying its best not to increase the prices of petroleum products. Deora will meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow to seek higher subsidy for oil marketing companies (OMCs). He also said any decision on petroleum pricing would be taken up only after the Kirit Parikh committee submitted its report later this week.

As Government mulls hiving off Oil and Natural Gas Corp

State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) will be able to taper their third quarter losses after the government has committed itself to a Rs 12,000-crore cash subsidy to compensate them for selling cooking fuels at government-regulated prices.

THE finance ministry is unwilling to pay the entire Rs 31,700 crore demanded as compensation by the petroleum ministry on behalf of the state-owned oil companies

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has directed the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to make it mandatory for all oil marketing companies to sell petrol mixed with 5 per cent of ethanol.