Cabinet approves Rs 30,000 cr subsidy to compensate oil firms for LPG losses
New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI): Cabinet on Friday approved Rs 30,000 crore LPG subsidy to state-run oil companies -- Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) -- to compensate for losses incurred from selling LPG at below cost over the past 15 months.
The compensation to oil marketing companies (OMCs) will be paid in 12 tranches, as per an official statement.
The international prices of LPG were at high levels during 2024-25 and continue to remain high. However, to insulate consumers from fluctuations in international LPG prices, the increase in cost was not passed on to consumers of domestic LPG, leading to significant losses for the three OMCs.
Despite the losses, public sector oil marketing companies have ensured continuous supplies of domestic LPG in the country at affordable prices.
"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved compensation amounting to Rs 30,000 crore to the three Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPCL & HPCL) for the under-recoveries incurred on sale of domestic LPG," the statement said.
This compensation will allow OMCs to continue meeting their critical requirements such as crude and LPG procurement, servicing of debt, and sustaining their capital expenditure, thereby ensuring uninterrupted supply of LPG cylinders to households across the country, it added.
The distribution of the compensation within the OMCs will be done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
"This step also underlines the government's commitment to protect consumers from volatility in global energy markets while maintaining the financial health of these PSU OMCs," the statement said.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
