The largest wave of economic reforms since coming to power, the NDA government on Saturday-regulated the price of diesel and announced a new price for natural gas produced in the country.
The government also announced the relaunch of the Transfer Scheme of the UPA flagship direct benefit for LPG consumers to benefit subsidy denied for lack of a Aadhaar number.
Mahim Pratap Singhmayhempsingh
Breaking: Diesel, which is now deregulated, will be cheaper by Rs. From 3.37 midnight
With the decision of the Cabinet, the price of diesel, like petrol, now would stand attached to the market without government intervention, with retail prices that reflect price changes in the world market.
In the setting of gas prices, the government surprised analysts - who had been predicting revised prices in the range of $ 6-7 / MMBtu (million metric British thermal units) - by fixing the price at 5, $ 61 per MMBtu, 75 percent lower than those suggested by the Rangarajan Committee under the UPA government fees.
The immediate impact will be a reduction in diesel prices by Rs 3.37 liters (ex-Delhi) with effect from midnight on Saturday.
Speaking about the cabinet decision deregulation of diesel prices, said the finance minister of the Union Arun Jaitley, "henceforth, like petrol, diesel prices would be linked to the market and therefore, depending on what it is the cost involved ... consumers will have to pay. "He was speaking to presspersons following the cabinet meeting on Saturday.
The price of gas, the main change to the formula Rangarajan was the removal of Japanese components and Indian LNG import. The extent to fetch additional revenue to finance Rs. 3,800 crore in higher royalties, 80 percent of which will accrue to government enterprises.
In a related decision, the Cabinet approved a note from the Ministry of Petroleum to give leeway in the production sharing contract that the companies signed with the government to monetize hydrocarbon discoveries faster. Cairn, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and ONGC are among the immediate beneficiaries of the elimination of bureaucracy in the process of hydrocarbon exploration.
