Indian oil companies to receive compensation for their losses

The government of India has agreed to compensate the three state-owned oil companies in India for their losses from selling petroleum products at a controlled price.  The three companies, Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., and Hindustan Petroleum Corp., have been losing Rs 18.19 (US$0.40) per liter for diesel fuel, Rs 29.69 (US$.66) per liter for kerosene and Rs 329.73 (US$7.33) for each 14.2 kg LPG cylinder.  The cash subsidy provided by the government is estimated at Rs 20,000 crore (US$4.44 billion) for the year 2010-2011. To date, the government has provided Rs 41,000 crore (US$9.11 billion) to the three oil companies in cash subsidies, including the latest compensation. (May 13, 2011)