Scrap VB- G RAM G, restore MGNREGA, says Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday demanded that the Centre abolish the VB–GRAMG scheme and restore the MGNREGA saying the "repeal" had taken away the constitutional right to work of Dalits, tribals, women, small farmers and rural labourers, besides undermining the powers of elected panchayats.
Moving a resolution in the Karnataka Assembly, the Chief Minister said, "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act must be restored along with people's right to employment, panchayat autonomy under the 73rd Constitutional Amendment and a minimum wage of Rs 400," and sought that a copy of the resolution be sent to the Centre.
He said the latest rural employment scheme VB–G RAM G should be scrapped in its entirety, arguing that it would lead to increased unemployment, reduced participation of women and greater pressure on Dalit and tribal families.
"When an important law was repealed and a new one was introduced, everyone's view was important. MGNREGA was repealed and VB–GRAMG was introduced without discussing with the states," Siddaramaiah alleged.
He pointed out that under MGNREGA. 12.16 crore people in rural areas were getting 100 days' job. If someone applied for a job, then he or she was given it. If not a job, then at least money was given under the previous employment guarantee scheme.
He further said women constituted 53.61 per cent of the workforce under MGNREGA, while 28 per cent belonged to SC/ST communities.
He warned that these sections are now rendered jobless.
According to Siddaramaiah, MGNREGA was a demand-based guarantee that prevented distress migration, unlike VB–GRAMG, under which the Centre would decide the nature of work, notify villages and release funds, leaving gram panchayats with no role.
Slamming the BJP MLAs who were objecting to his explanation, he said, "study VB–GRAMG first and then come for debate. You have passed the Act and you don't read it..(it) is unfair."
Siddaramaiah pointed out that Karnataka had 71.18 lakh rural labourers, more than 51 per cent of them women, and alleged that new restrictions would halt work during agricultural seasons for 60 days.
He said contractors, who were banned under MGNREGA, had now been allowed to take up large works, while wage parity and year-round employment were no longer guaranteed.
He also objected to the Centre sharing only 60 per cent of wage costs, with states bearing 40 per cent, at a time when the latter were facing fund crunch.
He said successive BJP chief ministers, including B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, had earlier praised MGNREGA, noting that 31.14 lakh families and 59.13 lakh individuals had benefited in a year, creating 13.24 crore person-days of work with Rs 3,769 crore paid as wages.
"After lauding it, this Act was abolished," he said, alleging that villagers had begun migrating again in search of work.
When BJP MLAs objected and sought elaboration, the CM asked the Speaker U T Khader to act against members disrupting his speech under Rule 347, remarking, "we too know how to do satire and create disturbance during your speech."
He described V B–GRAM G as "deadly for villages," adding, "I forget its full form because it is far from rural life."
Responding to an intervention by BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar that the Centre had given six months' time for implementation, Siddaramaiah said Presidential assent had already been granted and the law notified without consulting states.
He alleged the scheme was inspired by "Manusmriti," claiming it was not intended to financially empower women, Dalits, tribals and small farmers, and accused the RSS of guiding the BJP.
Reiterating his demands, Siddaramaiah said MGNREGA must be restored, VB–G RAM G abolished, panchayat rights returned and the cost-sharing formula scrapped, asserting that repealing MGNREGA amounted to insulting Mahatma Gandhi and taking away the rights of the rural poor.
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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.
