-PTI Says sharp decline in fuel subsidies points to a hike in petrol and diesel prices to international levels CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today said that the Union budget has "failed" to address the major concern of the masses and questioned the reason behind cutting oil subsidy and increasing the tax concession for the corporates.      "There has been a sharp decline in petroleum subsidy, for diesel, petrol and other oil products....

-The Asian Age Sonia Gandhi’s economic and political ideology may have apparently triumphed over that of Manmohan Singh. The neo-liberal finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram may be conveying an impression that he’s turned socialist with a vengeance by increasing taxes on the rich in the run-up to the 16th general elections. But the truth is that Mr Chidambaram has made certain assumptions about subsidies, inflation and the expected growth of gross domestic product...

-The Hindu The Economic Survey has said that the proportion of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidies that goes to the poor, in both rural and urban areas, was low. This finding is bound to provide fuel to the debate on whether the rich should continue to be supplied cooking gas at subsidised rate. Making a case for containing subsidies through better targeting, the Survey said the reach of subsidies on LPG “is...

-The Times of India It appears to be one step forward and two steps back for the government in so far as pruning of Fuel Subsidy bill is concerned. The latest example is the oil ministry's order asking state-run fuel retailers to supply cooking gas cylinders at subsidized rate to non-domestic consumers such as canteens, medical institutions and mid-day meal kitchens. The order on cooking gas, issued on Tuesday, comes close on...

-The Hindu In his article in The Hindu (editorial page, “Making a mockery of domestic gas pricing,” January 18, 2013, Surya P. Sethi attacks the gas pricing formula proposed by the Rangarajan Committee, curiously enough, for being based on numbers from foreign markets that do not reflect the supply, demand or cost of production in India. I say “curiously” because on the exact opposite side, domestic producers are also pillorying the committee’s...