As I write this piece, the finance minister has dispatched the Union Budget 2011. The press is busy reflecting the views of business and industry lobbies, as they quibble over duty exemptions, insist on financial stimulus and other incentives, and cry for big-ticket reform—foreign direct investment in retail and insurance. …
Pre-budget discussions on misuse of subsidised diesel in cars has hit a crescendo. Public angst has already brought this to a boil. Political ire is also sharper this year, with Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh condemning the use of subsidised diesel in luxury SUVs as “criminal”. Will the Union Budget …
THE Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has fumbled in answering a critical question on carbonyl and methane emissions from vehicle exhausts: which pollutes less—petrol, diesel, CNG or LPG? The pollution watchdog’s study on emissions provides a database that could be used to give a policy message. It declared CNG to …
As BS IV norms for fuels and vehicles come into force from April 1, 2010 in 13 cities, the automobile industry is trying to delay implementation of BS III norms for vehicles in the rest of India. This is not acceptable, says CSE. By April 1, 2010, 13 cities in …
Centre for Science and Environment blasts Kirit Parikh panel report on petroleum pricing that fails to offer effective solution to halt misuse of under-taxed diesel by rich car owners. Additional excise duty of a mere Rs 81,000 on diesel cars to equalise the excise tax burden on petrol car proposed …
Better industrial performance in sight. Riding on higher output in cement, coal and electricity, the index of six core infrastructure industries grew 8.7 per cent in February 2008 against 7.6 per cent in the same month last year. This is the second-highest growth in the index during 2007-08, next to …
State-run firms together lost Rs 440 cr per day in the fortnight ended March 31. The retail losses that the country's oil marketing companies incur on sale of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at subsidised prices have risen by 7.3 per cent to around Rs 440 crore per day …
Higher petrol and food prices have pushed Australia's annual inflation rate above 4% for the second consecutive month, putting it well above the Reserve Bank of Australia's target, a survey shows. Inflation in the year to March posted consecutive rises at 4% or above for the first time since the …
India's largest crude oil producer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is on the verge of reporting "losses' on every barrel of crude oil that it sells due to the high subsidy burden that it has to bear. This would be the first time that ONGC will post negative margins …
Faced with the prospects of rising global crude oil prices and its inability to match the fuel price offered by state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs), Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is understood to have decided to shut down 900 petrol pumps. The company has set up 1,400 pumps across the country. …
Victorian petrol prices have already peaked before the Easter long weekend and will continue to drop over the next few days, the RACV says. RACV government and corporate relations manager David Cumming said today was the most expensive day of the week to buy petrol with the average price of …
PetroChina faces the prospect of losing about $18bn on its refining business if the price of crude oil remains at its present level, its chairman suggested on Wednesday. Chinese refiners have been unable to pass soaring oil prices on to consumers because the government imposes price controls on petrol and …
It is high time Parliament took serious note of the sordid story of the unwarranted hike in the prices of petroleum products. AFTER months of vacillation, the Union government has raised the price of petrol and diesel by Rs.2 and Re.1 a litre respectively. The leftist parties and the National …
Mormugao Deputy Collector Levinson Martins has convened a meeting on Thursday morning, to discuss the seepage of petroleum products into two wells at Bogmalo. Stating this, Chicolna-Bogmalo Sarpanch Laxman Kavlekar told Herald that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officials on Wednesday claimed they had no facilities to store the petroleum that …
While efforts to pump out petroleum products that seeped into two wells at Pilmad Bogmalo have met with little success, Chicolna-Bogmalo Sarpanch Laxman Kavlekar has now claimed that a third well has been contaminated in the village. Mr Kavlekar has stated that IOC officials will visit the well on Wednesday …
The government has increased petroleum products' prices, which will be effective for the fortnight, from March 1 to March 15. The petrol price has been raised from Rs 53.70 per litre to Rs 58.70, diesel from Rs 32.57 per litre to Rs 36.07, kerosene oil from Rs 35.23 per litre …
The 5% reduction in freight rates for motor fuels announced in the Railway Budget is aimed at weaning away petrol and diesel traffic from road transport but will not result in any reduction in pump prices as the oil companies will save a mere Rs 50 crore annually due to …
The dream of climate-friendly, petroleum-free motoring is creeping closer - thanks to a clutch of breakthroughs in nanotechnology. Several recently reported lab findings promise to vastly improve the safety and performance of the high-capacity batteries that electric cars will need, at last making them a viable alternative to today's petroleum-powered …
Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's announcement of a 5% cut in the freight rates for moving petrol and diesel is indeed an effort to bring back the oil traffic from roads to the railways. The reduction in freight rate, announced as part of the Railway Budget proposals for 2008-09, is …
