PM's 100-day agenda: Energy ministers gear up

With pertoleum ministry rooting for the poor, proposal for hike in cooking gas may be shot down

With the Narendra Modi led-government asking every ministry to come up with a 100-day agenda, the petroleum ministry is planning to line up a priority list. The list includes clarity on policies relating to the next round of bidding for exploration of oil & gas blocks, gas pricing and removal of bottlenecks in the sector.

The power and coal ministries, too, have lined up an agenda that includes increasing coal production, renewable energy generation and financially healthier distribution companies.

After issuing a 10-point agenda last week on the functioning of the government, Prime Minister Modi on Monday held a special meeting of the Council of Ministers on a 100-day plan.

With Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of state for petroleum, insisting on a pro-poor approach, suggestions by the Kirit Parikh panel on pricing of petroleum products, including a rise of Rs 250 in the prices of subsidised domestic cooking gas cylinders, aren’t likely to be implemented.

“We have lined up priorities and before the Lok Sabha session starts on June 4, the PM will carry out a performance review of the ministry. The minister is yet to get an official guidance from the prime minister. However, our priorities for a 100-day agenda are ready,” said a petroleum ministry official close to the development.

Within 100 days, a decision on the future of direct benefits transfer for liquefied petroleum gas may also be taken.

When asked about the priorities of the power and coal ministry, minister Piyush Goyal said, “I will be meeting the prime minister on the agenda. Coal production, renewable energy and making discoms healthy will top the priority list. Taking light to every house in the country will also be priority.”

On the 100-day agenda, he said, “We are looking at a haul. No agenda has been set for 100 days; we are here for five years; we are looking at five years, not 100 days.”

The government’s 10-point agenda included health, water, energy and roads. It sought greater transparency in governance and building confidence within the bureaucracy.

Last week, to expedite decision making within the government, the Price Minister’s Office had decided to abolish the nine empowered groups of ministers and twenty-one groups of ministers.

Ministries clubbed

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden interaction with top officials on Tuesday, government ministries have been clubbed into thematic groups. Secretaries to the government would make presentations to Modi during time allotted to each group, said a senior official, who did not wish to be named.