Bringing petrol, diesel under GST will lower prices: Devendra Fadnavis
Fuel prices will come down once the Centre builds a consensus to bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today. Petrol and diesel prices are defined by international crude oil rates, Fadnavis noted. “A task force is already working on reducing the fuel prices. If it (petrol and diesel) can be brought under GST, rates will come down. Maharashtra has already given its consent for it,” the chief minister told reporters here. The GST Council will also have to look into aspects like revenue losses before taking a decision, he said. Talks are going on with finance ministers of all states, Fadnavis said, adding that “other states have not given their consent yet.” “Once petrol and diesel are brought under the ambit of GST, its threshold will change, because, right now, taxes upon taxes are levied which increases rates. GST will ensure a single tax,” he said. The Centre had in June last year junked the 15-year old practice of revising rates every fortnight and introduced daily revisions. Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the 11th day in succession today as the state-owned oil firms gradually passed on to the consumer the increased cost of international oil that had accumulated since a 19-day freeze was imposed just before Karnataka elections. Since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.84 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.60 in diesel. Petrol costs Rs 77.47 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 68.53. The central government levies Rs 19.48 excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. Meanwhile, praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said the Centre has stood behind his state government “like Himalayas” and that all stalled projects were given a clearance under Modi’s rule. “Unprecedented funds have been given by the Centre to mitigate drought problems, for irrigation purposes, to build roads. The Centre has given Maharashtra in last four years what was not given in the last 20 years,” he claimed. Trey Hendrickson Womens Jersey
Indraprastha Gas fourth quarter net profit up 31 per cent to Rs 175 crore
City gas supplier Indraprastha Gas Limited reported its standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2018 rose 31 percent to Rs 175 crore on the back of increased Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) sales. Net profit in the corresponding quarter stood at Rs 134 crore. “In Q4 of 2017-18, the company’s net profit for the quarter increased from Rs. 133.5 crores in corresponding period last year to Rs 175.33 crore in FY’18 showing an increase of 31%. During this period, IGL registered a turnover of Rs. 1347 crore as compared to Rs. 1100 crore in the corresponding period last year thereby showing a growth of 22%,” the company said in a statement It added that there has been an overall sales volume growth of 11 percent over the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal, with CNG sales volume growing by 10 percent and PNG sales volume growing by 15 percent. The company’s total income for the fourth quarter increased by 23 percent to Rs 1,383 crore as compared to the corresponding quarter in the year-ago period. IGL reported its consolidated profit for the full financial year 2017-2018 grew 19 percent to Rs 722 crore. Total income of the city gas distributor for the full fiscal year of 2017-2018 grew by 21 percent to Rs 5,164 crore. The company in a statement said that increase in operating expenses during the year is mainly attributed to non-availability of input tax credit of Goods Service Tax (GST) and a significant increase in minimum wages in Delhi from March 2017. IGL’s expenses in the financial year 2017-2018 increased to Rs 4,140 crore from Rs 3,427 crore. The gas distributor’s CNG sales for the financial year 2017-2018 increased by 18 percent in value to Rs 3,888 crore and its PNG sales in value terms increased by 27 percent to Rs 1,165 crore as compared to the year-ago period. John Riggins Womens Jersey
Windfall oil tax on ONGC in the offing to soften fuel prices
The government may levy a windfall tax on oil producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) as part of a permanent solution it is working on for moderating the spiralling retail prices of petrol and diesel. The tax, which may come in form of a cess, will kick in the moment oil prices cross USD 70 per barrel, sources privy to the development said. Under the scheme, oil producers, who get paid international rates for the oil they produce from domestic fields, would have to part with any revenue they earn from prices crossing USD 70 per barrel mark. The revenues so collected would be used to pay fuel retailers so that they absorb spikes beyond the threshold levels, they said. This may be accompanied by a minor tinkering with excise duty rates to give immediate relief to consumers. States too would be asked to cut sales tax or VAT to show a visible impact on retail prices. Sources said the thinking in the government is to levy cess on all oil producers – both public and private sector – so as not to attract criticism of stifling state-owned explorers. A similar tax was considered in 2008 when oil prices were on the rise but the idea was dropped after stiff opposition from private sector firms like Cairn India. Windfall tax, they said, is levied in some of the developed countries globally. The UK in 2011 raised the tax rate to be applied to North Sea oil and gas profits when the price is above USD 75 per barrel. China on April 1, 2006, began levying the special upstream profit tax on domestic oil producers to redistribute and allocate the windfall income enjoyed by the oil companies and subsidise disadvantaged industry and social groups that are most affected by soaring crude oil prices. It in 2012 raised the windfall tax threshold to USD 55 per barrel. Sources said the windfall tax is one of the options being considered by the government as a permanent solution to dealing with the problem of spike in oil prices. This follows reluctance on part of the finance ministry to cut excise duty as it has to ensure adequate funds are available to social welfare schemes in the election year. In particular, resources have to be arranged for the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) that aims to provide health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh to every eligible household. Yesterday, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had stated that the government will take a long-term view on the retail prices of petrol and diesel, which have touched record high, instead of having an ad hoc measure. Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the 11th day in succession today as the state-owned oil firms gradually passed on to the consumer the increased cost of international oil that had accumulated since a 19-day freeze was imposed just before Karnataka elections. Since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by Rs 2.84 a litre in case of petrol and Rs 2.60 in diesel. Petrol costs Rs 77.47 a litre in Delhi and diesel Rs 68.53. Sources said a USD 70 per barrel threshold for the windfall tax is sufficient to cover for capital expenditure requirement of ONGC and other oil producers. Incidentally, ONGC and Oil India Ltd had till June 2015 provided for up to 40 per cent of the annual fuel subsidy bill. This they did by way of providing discounts on crude sold to downstream refining and marketing companies, IOC, BPCL, and HPCL. This discount helped the retailers make good a part of the losses they incurred on selling petrol and diesel below cost. The government raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre. The Centre levies Rs 19.48 as excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. Phillip Gaines Womens Jersey
OVL FY18 net profit up 29 pc on higher oil production
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), today reported a 29 per cent jump in its net profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 as it produced more crude oil and natural gas. Consolidated net profit in 2017-18 fiscal at Rs 981 crore was 29.6 per cent higher than Rs 757 crore in the previous financial year, the company said in a statement. OVL is an unlisted company and as such is not obligated to release quarterly earning numbers. The firm, which has 41 projects in 20 countries spanning from Venezuela to New Zealand, produced 11 per cent more crude oil at 9.35 million tonnes in FY18. Natural gas output was also up 10 per cent at 4.81 billion cubic metres. “The incremental production was mainly from Vankorneft and Sakhalin-1 projects in Russia; Brazil’s BC-10 project, CPO-5 block of Colombia and due to the acquisition of 4 per cent stake in the Lower Zakum Concession project in UAE during the year,” the statement said. The board of directors of the company proposed a final dividend of Rs 2 per share for the 2017-18 fiscal, up from 1.4 a share paid in the previous year. OVL said it along with Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd in February acquired 10 per cent stake in Lower Zakum Concession, offshore Abu Dhabi — the first acquisition by an Indian firm in UAE. The 10 per cent stake was split between OVL, IOC and BRPL in 40:30:30 ratio. The field produces around 419,000 barrels of oil per day and share of Indian companies is around 42,000 bpd. OVL’s share is around 16,800 bpd, it said. During the year, the company also completed an acquisition of 30 per cent interest in an exploration acreage in Namibia. ONGC Videsh Vankorneft Pte Ltd (OVVL), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of OVL, took 30 per cent stake in Namibia Petroleum Exploration License 0037 on October 3, 2017 for Blocks 2112A, 2012B and 2113B from Tullow Oil of UK. Tullow with its remaining 35 per cent participating interest shall continue to be the operator of the license. Pancontinental Namibia (Pty) Ltd with 30 per cent interest and Paragon Oil and Gas (Pty) Ltd with 5 per cent are other partners in the license. Also, an exploration block in Israel was awarded to an Indian consortium comprising of OVL, Bharat Petro Resources Ltd (BPRL), IOC and Oil India Ltd (OIL). OVL said Russia has granted a 30 years extension to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) of Sakhalin-1 block from 2021 to 2051. The company holds 20 per cent stake in the field operation by Exxon. Elsewhere, Government of Mozambique has accorded approval for the development plan for the Golfinho-Atum natural gas field in the Area 1 block located in the Rovuma Offshore Basin of Mozambique. “The plan outlines the integrated development of the Golfinho-Atum field through an initial two-train onshore liquefaction plant with a total processing capacity of 12.88 million tonnes per annum,” OVL said. The Golfinho-Atum Project will also supply initial volumes of approximately 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for domestic sales for Mozambique’s industrial development and thereafter make close to 13 million tonnes of LNG annually for exports to nations like India. ANZ ABM ABM P.J. Hall Jersey
Petrol price rises for 11th straight day; govt defends price rise amid call for nation-wide protests
Petrol and diesel prices across the country were raised for the eleventh consecutive day today with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) passing on the increase in international fuel prices to the consumers. This follows the 19-day price freeze initiated by OMCs before the Karnataka polls. Price of non-branded petrol in Delhi soared to Rs 77.47 per litre today, the highest price recorded in Delhi’s history, and a 30 paise per litre hike over Wednesday’sprice. The previous high for petrol price in Delhi was Rs 76 per liter in September 2013 when crude oil prices were hovering around $108-115 per barrel. Similarly, diesel prices in the national capital soared to Rs 68.53 per litre today, the highest recorded ever. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday at a press briefing argued that fuel taxes were necessary for country’s development. “As far as fuel prices are concerned, including the excise duty or other taxes thereupon, they are very clearly used for country’s development, for constriction of more national highways, more roads, more digital infrastructure, taking energy to those villages which were without energy for last so many years,” he said. The price of Petrol has peaked at record levels in other metro cities too, including Rs 85.29 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 80.42 in Chennai and Rs 80.12 per litre in Kolkata. Price of every litre of non-branded diesel has also peaked at Rs 72.96 in Mumbai, Rs 72.35 in Chennai and Rs 71.08 in Kolkata. Prasad added, “In view of the uncertainty in the crude prices globally, a new sense of urgency has developed. The govt is keen that instead of having an ad-hoc measure, it is desirable to have a long-term view that addresses not only the volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs.” Meanwhile, Indian National Congress has called for protests in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Mumbai and New Delhi. West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress today said it would organise protests in the city of Kolkata on Friday against sharp hike in fuel prices. Biju Janta Dal, ruling party in Odisha has announced its decision to hold protests outside Raj Bhavan on Monday against the centre’s inaction to regulate prices of petrol and diesel. Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, has since 14 May increased petrol prices by Rs 2.84 per litre and has hiked diesel prices by Rs 2.60 per litre in the national capital. Prices have peaked across the country, fuelling speculations the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government may be mulling an excise duty cut for auto fuels. Also Read: Fuel price hike: Indian Oil responds to tough questions BJP President Amit Shah had on Tuesday said the government is taking the issue of rising fuel prices seriously and will soon announce measures to deal with the matter. He added that oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is meeting the representatives of oil companies to work out a solution. Sanjiv Singh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and M.K Surana, Chairman of Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) in separate statements told media that the government has not called a meeting to discuss the fuel price issue. Pradhan had on Monday attributed the fuel price hike to production cuts initiated by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and told media that the government is working on a solution to provide respite to consumers. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had last week said that the government is monitoring the situation and will take adequate steps soon without elaborating on the measures to be taken by the government. Oil and gas sector analysts have over the past week said fuel prices will go up by an additional Rs 4 per litre as the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) try to recover their marketing margins, which came under pressure when OMCs collectively initiated a price freeze for 19 straight days before the Karnataka elections. Quinton Jefferson Jersey
OPEC may decide to ease oil supply curbs in June – sources
OPEC may decide to raise oil output as soon as June due to worries over Iranian and Venezuelan supply and after Washington raised concerns the oil rally was going too far, OPEC and oil industry sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Gulf OPEC countries are leading the initial talks on when the exporting group can boost oil production to cool the oil market after crude rose above $80 a barrel last week, and how many barrels each member can add, the sources said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers led by Russia have agreed to curb output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of 2018 to reduce high global oil stocks, but the inventory overhang has now fallen close to OPEC’s target. “All options are on the table,” one Gulf oil source told Reuters, adding that a decision to raise output might be taken in June when OPEC next meets to decide on its output policy, but there is no certain number yet by how much the group would need to ease its oil supply curbs. OPEC and its non-OPEC allies may opt to relax record high compliance with the supply curb agreement, another source said. OPEC’s compliance with the deal reached an unprecedented 166 percent in April, meaning it has cut well above its target. “We are still studying the different scenarios,” the second source said, adding that even if OPEC decided to ease the output restrictions in June it may take three to four months to put into effect. “That is one of the options,” an OPEC source said, referring to adding more supply at the June meeting. Falling Venezuelan output due to an economic crisis has helped OPEC and its allies deliver a bigger cut than intended. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih is set to meet his counterparts from Russia and the United Arab Emirates, which holds the OPEC presidency in 2018, in St. Petersburg this week to discuss this issue, sources said. So far, OPEC has said it sees no need to ease output restrictions despite a fall in global stocks to the group’s desired levels and concerns among consuming nations that the price rally could undermine demand. But the sources said that the quick decline in global oil inventories and worries about the impact on oil supplies after the U.S. decision to withdraw from the international nuclear deal with Iran, as well as Venezuela’s collapsing oil output, were behind the change in OPEC’s thinking. Concerns raised by the United States that oil prices were too high also made the exporting group start internal discussions, the sources added. U.S. President Donald Trump accused OPEC last month of “artificially” boosting oil prices. Last week, Falih, OPEC’s most influential energy minister, said he had called his counterparts in the UAE, the United States and Russia, as well as major oil consumer South Korea, to “coordinate global action to ease global market anxiety”. Earlier this month, an OPEC source familiar with the kingdom’s oil thinking told Reuters that Saudi Arabia is monitoring the impact on oil supplies of the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and is ready to offset any shortage but it will not act alone to fill the gap. Odell Beckham Jr Authentic Jersey
India’s crude oil import bill swells 23 per cent despite fall in volumes
The recent rally in international crude oil prices has inflated India’s crude oil import bill by 23 per cent to $8.2 billion in the month of April despite the quantity of imports in the month falling by 5 per cent, fresh data published by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed. The data from the statistical arm of the oil ministry also shows the country’s total crude oil import bill in the current financial year (2018-2019) is expected to jump 24 per cent to $109 billion from $88 billion last fiscal year. India imported 17.2 Million Tonne (MT) of crude in the month of April, down 5 per cent from 18.1 MT imported in the corresponding month last financial year. The country’s gross petroleum imports including crude oil and petroleum products also decreased to 20.2 MT in April 2018 from 20.8 MT in April 2017. However, due to the rally in the crude oil and petroleum product prices, the country’s gross petroleum import bill grew 24 per cent to $9.4 billion as compared to $7.6 billion recorded in the corresponding month of the last financial year. Crude oil prices have surged since April on the back of tightening crude oil market due to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil production cuts, drop in Venezuela crude output, geo-political tensions in the Middle-East and economic sanctions imposed by United States on Iran, which is expected to impact the country’s oil exports. Rising crude oil prices may worsen the country’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) to 2.5 per cent in the present financial year from an estimated 1.9 per cent in the last financial year, SBI Capital Markets said in a recent report. Sector analysts expect that this may lead to petroleum subsidy to fall short on the back of steady rise in crude oil prices and revised target of providing 8 crore Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The government under Budget 2018 allocated Rs 24,933 crore as petroleum subsidy for the current financial year, a mere 2 per cent increase over the Revised Estimate of Rs 24,460 crore allocated last financial year. Moody’s Investors Service in its latest report expects the country’s fuel subsidy bill to balloon to Rs 53,000 crore in the present financial year on the back of surging crude oil prices. The rating agency also added that state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) may have to bear a large part of the burden impacting their financials. As the oil prices rise, ONGC and OIL face increasing risk that the government will once again require them to share in the country’s fuel-subsidy burden. “Because of the government’s widening fiscal deficit, ONGC and OIL could be asked to bear part of the Indian government’s fuel subsidy for oil, if prices stay above $60 per barrel for the fiscal year ending March 2019,” said Vikas Halan, Senior Vice President at Moody’s. The report estimates fuel subsidies to range between 34,000 crore and Rs 53,000 crore in 2018-19, the highest since fiscal year 2014-15, assuming Brent crude oil prices average $60-$80 per barrel. Rating agency ICRA had also said in February the petroleum subsidy allocation of Rs 21,700 crore for 2018-19 would materially fall short by Rs 11,000-12,000 crore. The price of Brent Crude averaged $71.80 per barrel during April 2018 as against $65.90 per barrel during March 2018. The Indian basket of crude averaged $69.30 per barrel during April 2018 as against $63.80 per barrel during the previous month. Jon Halapio Womens Jersey
Indian Oil to turn to traditional suppliers to meet Iran oil shortfall
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country’s top refiner, will turn to its traditional oil suppliers, mostly in the Middle East, if U.S. sanctions against Iran result in supply disruptions, its head of finance said. U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month pulled out of a 2015 international nuclear pact with Iran, and said he would impose sanctions on Tehran – and companies that continue to work with it – unless it curbed its influence in the Middle East. Other signatories of the pact – France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China – said they would try to salvage the deal and keep Iran’s oil trade and investment flowing. “So far we haven’t cut any volumes from Iran. We have to see how strongly the U.S. takes up sanctions. From our side, we would like to continue. Otherwise we will look to our traditional suppliers,” A.K. Sharma said. IOC, which controls 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity or about a third of the country’s overall capacity, plans to buy 140,000 bpd of Iranian oil in 2018/19 and has an option to buy an additional 40,000 bpd. State refiners such as IOC have raised imports after Iran agreed to steep shipping discounts. “Iran’s high sulphur oil can be replaced with other crudes. It is just a case of economics. Replacing will mean slightly cost disadvantage,” Sharma added. IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh said the government had so far not directed refiners to cut imports from Iran. “We have to see how situation unfolds in future,” he said. Previously, India obtained a waiver from Western sanctions as the country had cut imports from the Islamic Republic. “We are working on a strategy. We are working on alternate plans if those volumes go down, then how do we manage the situation,” Singh said. IOC is Iran’s biggest Indian oil client. The company meets about 70 percent of its oil needs through annual contracts deals, mainly with Middle Eastern producers. It makes sense for IOC to look for alternatives to Iranian oil from other parts of the Middle East, due to geographical proximity and similarities in the oil produced. However, an IOC official said separately the company could also tap the spot market to buy U.S. oil. “There is an option to buy U.S. oil like Mars, but we will do that if arbitrage is favorable,” the official said. IOC recently bought 3 million barrels of U.S oil via a tender. Marcus Martin Jersey
Government should review taxes on petrol, diesel: HPCL chairman
There is a need to review taxation on petrol and diesel to provide relief to consumers after rates touched an all-time high, HPCL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Kumar Surana said today. One trigger after another has led to the 10th consecutive day of increase in retail selling price of petrol and diesel, but there is no case for going back on benchmarking domestic rates against international prices, he said. Surana said he was not aware of any meeting called by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan or anyone else in the government to discuss the rising prices. More than a week after the state-owned oil firms ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus on revising fuel prices, petrol and diesel rates have touched record highs. Petrol costs Rs 76.17 per litre in Delhi while diesel sells for Rs 68.34. In the last nine days, petrol price has risen by Rs 2.54 a litre and diesel by Rs 2.41. “We should find methods to handle (such) situation from time to time,” he told reporters here. Oil marketing companies, which are volume driven, operate on a thin margin and as such cannot do much if the international cost of oil rises, he said. “We have to maintain our capex plans and growth plans,” Surana reasoned. The solution has to be found while balancing the budgets of oil companies, the consumer and the government, he said. While the consumer has price sensitivities even though he has not shown any trend of moderating consumption in the face of rise in prices, the government heavily relies on oil revenues to meet its spending budget. “There is need to review taxation on the fuel,” he said without elaborating. A cut in excise duty combined with states being asked to reduce VAT is on the cards. The central government levies Rs 19.48 excise duty on a litre of petrol and Rs 15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. In Delhi, VAT on petrol was Rs 15.84 a litre, and Rs 9.68 on diesel in April. Today, it is Rs 16.41 on petrol and Rs 10.05 a litre on diesel. Every rupee cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel will result in a revenue loss of Rs 13,000 crore. Surana said financial health of oil companies has to be maintained while providing a comfort to consumers. He, however, said going back to a cost-plus method of calculating prices as against the current methodology of pricing fuel at a 15-day moving average of benchmark international product price would be a retrograde move. The long-term solution is bringing petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, he said, adding it was not true that oil companies were making big profit with rising prices. They were only passing on the cost of input to consumers, he said. The GST, which subsumed over a dozen central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT, was implemented from July 1 but crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel and ATF were kept out of its purview for the time being. The government had raised excise duty nine times between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre. Subsequent to that excise duty reduction, the Centre had asked states to also lower VAT. Just four of them — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh — reduced rates while others including BJP-ruled ones ignored the call. In all, duty on petrol rate was hiked by Rs 11.77 and that on diesel by Rs 13.47 a litre in those 15 months that helped government’s excise mop up more than double to Rs 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15. Mike Webster Jersey
India to take a ‘long-term” view on fuel pricing – minister
India wants to take a long-term view on pump prices of petrol and diesel to shield consumers from the volatility in global markets, the country’s law minister said on Wednesday, indicating the government could change its fuel pricing mechanism. Prices of diesel and petrol in India have surged to a record high. A liter of petrol costs 77.17 rupees ($1.13) while diesel is sold at 68.34 rupees/ liter. “The government is keen that instead of having an ad hoc measure it may be desirable to have a long-term view which addresses not only the volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs,” Ravi Shankar Prasad told a news conference. Opposition leaders have criticised the government for failing to rein in rising fuel prices, a politically-sensitive issue in one of the world’s biggest economies. Mike Webster Womens Jersey