Centre's oil royalty bill to erode subsidy gains

Gujarat, Assam to get Rs 14,715 crore in instalments

If the Centre pays Rs 14,715 crore as royalty — due to Assam and Gujarat on behalf of its two oil companies — it will give up gains made through lower petroleum subsidy.

Also, Union-government owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will need to take a Rs 2,500 crore payout, as royalty, from its books, impacting its performance in the quarter ending March 31.

This year, the government would be paying the states a little over Rs 2,207 crore — almost washing out the gain of Rs 2,468 crore it expects to make in FY17, over the subsidy