By IANS,
Mumbai : The government Sunday said under-recoveries on account of subsidies on petroleum products would be around Rs.1 trillion this fiscal and not Rs.2.45 trillion as estimated earlier.
Talking to reporters at the launch of a nationwide awareness campaign on saving fuel, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said the under-recoveries would be significantly lower as international crude oil prices have fallen.
Deora, who also inaugurated the second phase of the piped natural gas project of the Mahanagar Gas Ltd, claimed the central government has reduced prices of petrol by Rs.10 a litre, diesel by Rs.4 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.25 per cylinder.
“Our government has ensured that price of kerosene remained at around Rs.9 per litre. Kerosene, used by poor people, is priced at the minimum level,” he said.
Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said that of the total under-recoveries of about Rs.1 trillion, Rs.320 billion would be shared by upstream companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Oil India and Gas Authority of India.
He said the government would issue oil bonds to the oil marketing companies like Indian Oil and Hindustan Petroleum for the remaining amount, and that the accounts would be settled by the end of this financial year.