-The Times of India Brace for higher fuel bills as the government has formally started the consultation process for raising diesel and cooking gas prices - the latter with an increased annual cap of nine subsidized refills - in line with the recommendations of a finance ministry panel. The committee under former bureaucrat Vijay Kelkar, tasked to suggest a roadmap for cutting fiscal deficit, has suggested raising diesel price periodically to align...

-The Hindu The Delhi Government has saved nearly Rs.30,000 crore due to power privatisation and this money has been invested in improving the infrastructure. This has resulted in meeting the peak power demand of up to 6,250 MW and minimal power cuts despite the average annual per capita power consumption in the Capital being 1,450 units, almost twice the national average, Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf said while replying to a...

-The Economic Times The oil ministry may raise prices of diesel by Re 1 a litre or that of cooking gas by Rs 100 to neutralise the impact of its plan to increase the supply of subsidised cylinders to households, government officials said. "A Re 1 hike in diesel prices would generate about Rs 8,000 crore a year, which is sufficient for three additional cylinders in a year. About Rs 100 hike...

-The Hindu The direct cash transfer scheme launched a year ago in Kotkasim for providing kerosene subsidies has pushed legitimate beneficiaries out of the system The nondescript town of Kotkasim in the Alwar district of Rajasthan had its Peepli Live moment after it was chosen for a pilot experiment with “direct cash transfers” of kerosene subsidies. According to the district administration, the scheme led to net savings of 79 per cent in...

-Outlook A scheme to credit kerosene subsidies to beneficiaries’ accounts flopped real big in Rajasthan Dharamvir Chaudhary’s fair price shop in Kot Kasim, Rajasthan, is deserted. A year ago the tehsil played host to an experiment by the government: residents were asked to buy kerosene—a fuel most of India’s poor use to cook and light lamps—at market price (Rs 50 a litre) from shops like Dharamvir’s. People were promised that the...