India committed to price reforms

The Indian government said in June that it remains committed to implementing reforms in fuel pricing. The media reported in May that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government, which was voted back to power, said it may eliminate diesel and petrol subsidies as soon as July. The Indian government fixes the price of petrol and diesel and compensates state-owned oil refiners, such as Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., by supplying domestic crude oil at a discount and by issuing bonds to shore up their balance sheets. However, according to Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey, oil price deregulation is an inter-ministerial issue and the government wants to make sure consumers get fuel at affordable rates. (June 10, 2009)