 "Moily signals retreat on major fuel price reform")
In January, the government had decided that diesel would be supplied by the government’s three oil marketing companies (OMCs) to bulk users like the defence, railways and STUs at market rates; retail buyers were to continue to get the fuel at a controlled price, though the OMCs were also told they could raise this by a small amount each month. This dual pricing was meant to save about Rs 13,000 crore in annual subsidy.
“STUs are (now) purchasing diesel at market-driven prices, without any subsidy. We have received representations from various states on this. The OMCs have also reported that the dual pricing mechanism is not working, since STU bus fleets are taking fuel from retail outlets, causing hindrance in the (latter’s) smooth functioning. We will consider allowing STUs to purchase diesel at the subsidised price,” Moily said here on Tuesday.
Also, Moily insisted that no proposal had been moved to the Cabinet for raising diesel rates beyond the 40-50 paise a litre monthly increase, which has been implemented since January this year. “We have to take decision objectively and in the interest of the consumer... As of today, there is no proposal to increase price of diesel except for what the Cabinet had authorised in January,” he told reporters here.
He, instead, said a fuel conservation campaign would begin, with the aim of saving about $5 billion (Rs 31,000 crore) on the country’s oil import bill. His ministry has got cricketer Virat Kohli and badminton player Saina Nehwal as brand ambassadors for the mega campaign, to be launched on October 1 for six weeks.
The campaign would include simple steps like proper driving habits, better maintenance of vehicles, use of car-pools, switching off engines at traffic lights, appropriate upkeep of heavy-duty vehicles and driver training to minimise wastage. The Rs 45-crore campaign would involve contributions from all six government-owned oil petroleum companies and the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA).
The ministry aims to train 20,000 drivers from STUs in the next six months and 30,000 truck drivers in the next two months.
“We will be undertaking a large-scale media campaign. We will also conduct LPG clinics, kisan melas, driver training programmes, nukkad nataks (street plays), marathons, checking of vehicles at retail outlets, etc, to drive home the message of fuel conservation. PCRA will also use the SMS facility to give saving tips directly to consumers,” Moily added.
Also, the ministry and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency would issue benchmarking norms next month for cooking gas stoves and diesel pumps. Moily has also asked the urban development minister to push a ‘free cycle scheme’ in select cities for saving fuel and offered funding support from oil companies. “For every one per cent reduction in consumption, we would be able to save about $800 million (Rs 5,000 crore),” the minister added. The projected crude oil requirement for the country during the current financial year is 160 million tonnes.