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Moily asks FinMin to cut duties on branded petrol, diesel

November 6, 2013

MoilyNew Delhi, Nov 6: Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has asked the Finance Ministry to cut duties on branded petrol and diesel that offer better mileage and help cut fuel consumption.

Currently, the Finance Ministry levies higher excise duty on premium or branded petrol and diesel, making them costlier than normal or unbranded auto fuel.

While a litre of regular/normal or unbranded petrol costs Rs 72.45 in Delhi, branded petrol is priced at Rs 81.88. Similarly, normal diesel in Delhi costs Rs 52.54 a litre while branded diesel is priced at Rs 67.93.

"To enhance the fuel efficiency of new generation vehicles, specialised products (branded petrol and diesel) were launched by oil marketing companies in line with global trends and in keeping with the technological advancement in the automobile industry," the Oil Ministry said in a statement issued on completion of one-month of fuel conservation drive.

The Finance Ministry had in 2009 Budget introduced new duties on branded fuels, which raised the differential between regular and branded fuel. "Due to this, sales of branded fuels have started sliding," it said.

Also, in September last year, the government stopped providing subsidy on branded fuel, resulting in further dip in sales.

The current unbranded or normal diesel price of Rs 52.54 a litre includes a subsidy of Rs 9.20.

Ever since their introduction in 2002, sale of premium or branded fuels have dwindled from a peak of 5.9 million kilolitres of diesel and 3.4 million kl of petrol in 2007-08 to a mere 0.45 kl of diesel and 0.09 kl of petrol in 2012-13.

Moily has "requested the Ministry of Finance to review the duties levied on branded fuels to bring down the price differential so that consumers opt for branded fuel and this will help improve the fuel efficiency (by about 2 per cent) resulting in reduction in overall demand for petroleum products," the statement said.

Currently, the government levies an excise duty of Rs 1.20 per litre on normal or unbranded petrol while the same on branded petrol is Rs 7.50. Similarly, unbranded diesel attracts an excise duty of Rs 1.46 per litre while Rs 3.75 duty is levied on branded diesel.

Moily says the reduction in excise duty by Rs 6.30 per litre on petrol and Rs 2.29 on diesel would not impact government revenues as current sale of branded fuels was "meager". But it would help in conservation as these fuels provide improved engine performance to yield 2 per cent savings in consumption.

Branded petrol and diesel is priced at a premium to regular fuel as additives put in them remove harmful deposits from engines, prevent corrosion, reduce emissions and lower maintenance costs.

Moily had on October 1 launched a nationwide mega campaign to conserve oil. "The purpose of the conservation campaign is to reduce consumption of key petroleum products by minimising wastage through simple fuel saving measures," the statement said.

The conservation drive is aimed at saving 3 per cent fuel or about Rs 16,000 crore in one year.

"The Petroleum Ministry has also urged the Ministry of Power to notify 'Fuel Economy' norms for passenger cars within this year," it said.

Moily will shortly convene a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the modalities of developing and bringing these norms into effect given the fact that countries like the US and China have already announced ambitious targets.

The Petroleum Ministry has already approached the Ministry of Urban Development with the offer of funding "free cycles scheme" in select cities to cut down on fuel consumption.

It will also be approaching Chief Ministers of all States with a similar offer so that cities which come forward with such schemes, can be provided resources by the oil companies to implement such projects.

Officials in the Ministry and the 14 PSUs under it are "religiously" using public transport on at least one day a week to highlight the need to adopt public transport, reduce fuel consumption by government agencies and to enlist the support of the wider public in this campaign.

"Karnataka has also recently joined this effort by announcing "bus day" in Bangalore and it is hoped more and more States will also follow suit," the statement said.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

The Indian Defence Ministry, which had in its document that China intruded into the Indian territory in eastern Ladakh in early May, on August 6 took down the page which it had uploaded on its website.

According to a report by news channel NDTV, the ministry, in its document, had said the Chinese aggression has been "increasing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and more particularly in Galwan valley since May 5."

"The Chinese side has transgressed in the areas of Kungrang Nala, Gogra and north bank of Pangong Tso Lake on May 17-18," the document, titled 'Chinese Aggression on LAC' stated.

The document revealed that "... a violent face-off incident took place between the two sides on June 15, resulting in casualties on both sides."

After the clash, a second corps commander level meeting took place on June 22 to discuss the modalities of de-escalation. "While engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic level is continuing to arrive at mutually acceptable consensus, the present standoff is likely to be prolonged," it said.

A defence ministry spokesperson told the news channel that the document "did not go through him".

The opposition Congress, meanwhile, asked the government why the report was taken down with party leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that removal of the document from websites would not change facts.

"Forget standing up to China, India's PM lacks the courage even to name them. Denying China is in our territory and removing documents from websites won't change the facts," Gandhi tweeted.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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Agencies
June 27,2020

Mumbai, Jun 27: The Shiv Sena on Saturday hit out at the BJP over its charge that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) had accepted donations from the Chinese embassy, and asked it whether the issue had any connection with intrusion by the neighbouring country in Ladakh and the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers.

The Sena also alleged that those raising questions against the government over the standoff with China were being labelled as Chinese agents by the BJP.

BJP chief J P Nadda had on Thursday targeted the Congress and the Gandhi family saying that the RGF had allegedly accepted donations from the Chinese embassy. Hitting back, the Congress had said that the RGF issue raised by the BJP government was a "manufactured charge" and "diversionary tactic" to deflect attention from the LAC crisis.

"What do you mean by Congress gets money from China? Instead of responding to the issues raised by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the Chinese incursions, the BJP leaders accused the Congress of receiving funds from China," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"Will BJP's revelations about the donations stop the Chinese activities along the border? The BJP should tell what connection does these donations have with the Chinese incursion and the martyrdom of 20 soldiers," it added.

"In our country, many political leaders and parties, and not just the Congress, are beneficiaries of foreign countries. The BJP speaking about this is like throwing stones in the mud," it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India twice in the last six years.

"He was hosted in Gujarat. But it is a fact that China has betrayed. Holding talks on the one hand and continuing with the offensive along the border on the other hand is China's old policy," it said.

In the present scenario, the entire country stands firmly with PM Modi. This crisis is not for the BJP or the Congress, but for the entire country, whose prestige is at stake, it said.

"The BJP can fight with the Congress any time later.

But now is the time to fight against China. It should speak on that," the Sena said.

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