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Moily rules out cap on gas price

July 12, 2013

Moily_rulesNew Delhi, Jul 12: Oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Thursday unequivocally ruled out any rethink — including putting a cap on price — in the government on the decision to usher in a new pricing regime that is expected to double the cost of domestic gas from April.

Moily said the new price arrived through the formula would apply uniformly to all gas producers, implying Reliance Industries (RIL) would not be asked to sell the unmet commitment — quantity of gas it promised but failed to deliver — at the present rate of $4.2 per unit.

"There is no thinking on part of the government for any review or reconsideration of the decision of the CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs). Let me make it very clear: There is no confusion, there is no vagueness. And I don't think there is scope for any interpretation whatsoever," Moily told reporters.

The minister's statement came in the backdrop of the finance ministry sending six posers, based on media reports, regarding the CCEA's June 27 decision to approve the formula suggested by a panel under PM's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chief C Rangarajan.

Two of the key issues were: Should there be a ceiling to prevent domestic gas prices from a runaway spike once the new pricing formula comes into effect?

Should RIL be asked to maintain the present rate for the unmet quantity of gas? Moily said the finance ministry did not raise these issues when the oil ministry had sought its views twice for incorporation into the Cabinet note.

"The office memorandum dated July 4 from the department of expenditure, ministry of finance... has enclosed two editorials of newspapers and illustrated some of the issues in these editorials. That cannot be taken as objective opinion of the ministry of finance. It cannot (also) be considered as query raised by the ministry of finance," Moily said.

The minister said the price of gas would be $6.8 per unit according to the formula and not $8.4.

What Moily left unsaid is that this would be the price if the formula was to be applied today. But when the formula is applied in April, the price would be around $8.4 per unit unless prices of liquid gas imports drop dramatically in-between.

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March 27,2020

Mumbai, Mar 27: The RBI on Friday put on hold EMI payments on all term loans for three months and cut interest rate by steepest in more than 11 years as it joined the government effort to rescue a slowing economy that has now got caught in coronavirus whirlwind.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut repo to 4.4 per cent, the lowest in at least 15 years. Also, it reduced the cash reserve ratio maintained by the banks for the first time in over seven years. CRR for all banks was cut by 100 basis points to release Rs 1.37 lakh crore across banking system.

The reverse repo rate was cut by 90 bps to 4 per cent, creating an asymmetrical corridor.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das predicted a big global recession and said India will not be immune.

It all depends how India responds to the situation, he said.

Global slowdown could make things difficult for India too, despite some help from falling crude prices, Das said, adding food prices may soften even further on record crop production.

Aggregate demand may weaken and ease core inflation further, he noted.

The liquidity measures announced include auction of targeted long-term repo operation of 3 year tenor for total amount of Rs 1 lakh crore at floating rate and accommodation under Marginal Standing Facility to be increased from 2 per cent to 3 per cent of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) with immediate effect till June 30.

Combined, these three measures will make available a total Rs 3,74,000 crore to the country's financial system.

After cutting policy rates five times in 2019, the RBI had been on a pause since December in view of high inflation.

The measures announced come a day after the government unveiled a Rs 1.7 lakh crore package of free foodgrains and cash doles to the poor to deal with the economic impact of the unprecedented 21-day nationwide lockdown.

While the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI originally was slated to meet in the first week of April, it was advanced by a week to meet the challenge of coronavirus.

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News Network
August 7,2020

New Delhi, Aug 7: The Congress on Thursday demanded the removal of Karnataka minister KS Eshwarappa from the cabinet and his arrest for his statement that grand Krishna and Vishwanath temples would come up in Mathura and Kashi respectively after "liberating" them.

Mr Eshwarappa made the statement while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya yesterday.

"By asking kar sevaks (volunteers) to launch a similar campaign, the minister (Eshwarappa) is trying to disturb peace in the society," Congress Karnataka unit chief DK Shivakumar said at a press conference in Ballari today.

"Such people should be arrested immediately, police officials should register a case against him and the Chief Minister should remove him from the cabinet,"he said.

Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister Eshwarappa had said on Wednesday that he was of the firm opinion that "if not today, tomorrow, Mathura and Kashi temples will be liberated and grand temples would be built there."

"A place of devotion has to be built in both Kashi and Mathura. There too, grand temples have to be constructed. The mosques have to be removed from there," he said.

Mr Eshwarappa, a former BJP state president, said the centres of Hindu belief, Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura were a kind of a symbol of "slavery" as "temples of our Rama, Krishna and Vishwanath were destroyed and mosques built."

Stating that Mr Eshwarappa is not an individual but a minister who represents the government, Mr Shivakumar on Thursday sought to know from the Chief Minister whether this was his government's stand.

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News Network
March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 1,397 after 146 new patients were reported in the last 24-hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

Of this little less than 1,400 cases, there are 1,238 active while 124 cured. The total figure also includes 35 fatalities.

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