MVA promises caste census, free cervical cancer vaccine for girls; Rs 3,000 a month to women
Mumbai, Nov 10: The opposition MVA on Sunday released its manifesto for the November 20 Maharashtra polls, promising free cervical cancer vaccines for girls aged 9 to 16 and two optional leave days for women employees during menstruation.
The manifesto, titled ‘Maharashtranama’, assured a caste-based census, and monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000, free bus travel and six cooking gas cylinders every year at Rs 500 each to women.
It also promised to frame a 'Nirbhay Maharashtra' policy and enforcement of the Shakti law for the safety of women and children, besides a dedicated ministry for child welfare.
The MVA also assured to provide Rs 1 lakh each to girls on attaining the age of 18 years.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge released the manifesto of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the state elections at a press conference in Mumbai where NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut were also present.
Spelling out its theme, he said MVA’s vision for Maharashtra’s progress is based on five pillars – agriculture and rural development, industry and employment, urban development, environment and public welfare.
If voted to power, women in Maharashtra will receive Rs 3,000 per month under the Mahalaxmi scheme and will be entitled to free bus travel, he said. The state’s ‘Ladki Bahin’ programme currently provides eligible women monthly aid of Rs 1,500.
Kharge the MVA government will carry out a caste census and remove the 50 per cent ceiling on reservation as has been done in Tamil Nadu.
Replying to questions on populist schemes announced by the MVA after criticising the ruling Mahayuti for the same, Kharge said, “Give us government and we will give you the budget.”
MVA’s victory over the BJP-led Mahayuti is important for the progress and development of the state, he said.
The Congress president said that in Karnataka, Rs 52,000 crore has been budgeted for the implementation of guarantees and the budget and expenditure details are available.
“We did not lie. If you are determined to help the poor, you will find a way out,” he said.
Sule and state Congress president Nana Patole said enough funds will be available if the cost escalation in infrastructure projects and corruption are checked.
Kharge denied that some populist schemes, similar to the Mahayuti government's Ladki Bahin Yojana, are meant to influence voters.
“It is about ideology to provide social security,” he said.
Every family will get a health insurance cover of Rs 25 lakh along the lines of a scheme started by the earlier Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, Kharge said.
The manifesto promises free cervical cancer vaccines for all girls aged 9 to 16 and two optional leave days for female employees during menstruation. It also promises to formulate an inclusive policy to ensure opportunities for differently-abled and LGBTQIA+ individuals across all sectors.
For farmers in the state, apart from debt waiver up to Rs 3 lakh and Rs 50,000 incentive for regular loan repayment, a review will be conducted to improve the existing schemes and provide support to widows and children of families affected by cultivator suicides, the MVA promised.
The manifesto also assured the establishment of a Youth Commission for the welfare of the youth, Rs 4,000 per month allowance for unemployed educated graduates and diploma holders and recruitment for 2.5 lakh positions in the state government.
The opposition alliance also promised a new industrial policy and a dedicated ministry for the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and a separate department to empower self-help groups.
A welfare corporation for the organised and unorganised sanitation workers is also among the promises made in the MVA's manifesto.
The three-party alliance also assured immediate measures to control the prices of essential commodities, a monthly waiver of up to 100 units on electricity bills for consumers using up to 300 units and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme for government employees.
Kharge lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for alluding to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress ‘urban Naxals’ over the copy of a Constitution with a red cover.
He also slammed the BJP over its leaders’ ‘batenge toh katenge’ slogan, calling it divisive.
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Rs 30,000 cr loss a month: Oil companies bleed as fuel prices on hold amid global energy spike
New Delhi (PTI): About Rs 700-1,000 crore loss per day. Rs 30,000 crore every month. India's state oil companies are quietly absorbing a massive financial hit to keep petrol, diesel and LPG prices unchanged even as global energy markets face a turmoil that is bigger than all previous crises combined.
While countries from Japan to United Kingdom have raised petrol and diesel prices by up to 30 per cent since the start of the West Asia conflict, fuel prices in India continue at two-year-old levels.
The war disrupted India's import of 40 per cent of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel), 90 per cent cooking gas LPG and 65 per cent natural gas (used to generate electricity, make fertilizer, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking), but state-owned oil companies have maintained uninterrupted fuel supplies with no rationing or shortage at any point in the last 10 weeks.
But this has come at a cost - Rs 30,000 crore under-recovery or loss every month for the three oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The under-recoveries - the gap between input costs and realised retail prices - rose sharply in March/April before tapering a bit. Daily under-recoveries during April were estimated at about Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 25 per litre on diesel, translating into average losses of Rs 700-1,000 crore a day for OMCs, they said.
At a news briefing on developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said prices in the international markets, on which India relies to meet 88 per cent of its oil needs, have been volatile and supplies impacted.
Crude oil prices which were around USD 70 per barrel two months ago, are now at USD 120, she said. "It has been government's endeavour to keep prices stable so far and that there is no price increase for consumers," she said. "This has hit finances of OMCs... monthly under-recoveries are of the order of Rs 30,000 crore."
She, however, refused to say if retail petrol and diesel prices will continue to hold.
"As I said, the endeavour so far has been to see that there is no price increase," she said.
The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) have worked overtime to keep the supply lines running even when demand spiked due to panic buying.
The government intervention included excise duty reductions and absorption of part of the fuel cost burden. The special additional excise duty on petrol was cut to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13, while excise duty on diesel was reduced to zero from Rs 10 per litre.
The under-recoveries would have swelled to nearly Rs 62,500 crore had the government not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each.
The government, Sharma said, has taken a hit of Rs 14,000 crore a month in cutting the excise duty.
The Centre's effective absorption at peak crude prices was estimated at around Rs 24 per litre for petrol and Rs 30 per litre for diesel.
The February 28 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a sharp escalation in West Asia tensions. Energy prices surged as the conflict widened and shipping risks intensified in the Strait of Hormuz - the shipping lane through which India and other countries imported crude oil, LPG and natural gas from Gulf countries. Tanker movement was disrupted.
The companies also faced additional costs from emergency crude sourcing, higher freight charges due to vessel diversions, elevated marine insurance premiums and refinery optimisation expenses. Despite these pressures, fuel and LPG supplies remained uninterrupted across the country.
The surge in crude prices and the decision to shield consumers from higher retail prices placed significant strain on OMC balance sheets and refining margins, sources said.
They added that the measures reflected a policy decision to prioritise consumer stability and economic continuity during a global energy shock.
Sources warned that a prolonged period of elevated crude prices could lead to higher working capital borrowings and force some recalibration of capital expenditure plans. However, investments linked to refining expansion, energy security infrastructure, ethanol blending, biofuels and transition fuels would continue with government backing, they said.
India's approach contrasted with measures adopted by several other economies, where fuel prices rose sharply after the conflict-driven energy shock.
Petrol prices increased by about 34 per cent in Spain, 30 per cent in Japan, Italy and Israel, 27 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in the United Kingdom, according to estimates. Several countries also introduced rationing, conservation advisories, emergency relief packages or fuel caps.
In India, petrol prices remained Rs 94.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.67, with no rationing, mobility restrictions or supply disruptions, they added.
Sharma said the revenues that OMCs earn are used to buy crude oil, build infrastructure to process it into fuel and create channels that will take the fuel to consumers.
Their capex spending is all dependent on the revenues they earn, she added.
