AHMEDABAD: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is helping Ahmedabad-based Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) provide energy-efficient cook stoves and solar lanters to its members. IFC will provide a partial credit guarantee for a $5 million loan that an Indian private sector bank is providing to SEWA-sponsored Grassroots Trading Network for Women.

Under the initiative, women from various villages in Gujarat will be provided a loan to buy the combination of stove and lantern, at Rs 2,800 and Rs 1,800 respectively.

New Delhi State-owned fuel marketers IOC, HPCL and BPCL on Thursday ruled out an immediate rollback of the steepest petrol price increase of R7.5-R8 a litre from Thursday night but conceded that if the government instructs them to cut prices, they have no other go but to follow their majority shareholder.

They also indicated that if petrol price falls in world markets or rupee strengthens against the dollar this fortnight, the resultant gain shall be passed on to the consumer by way of a price cut.

Rates of diesel, LPG and kerosene left untouched

The UPA-II, celebrating three years in office, gave the “common man” a gift on Wednesday: the steepest- ever increase of Rs. 7.54 in petrol prices. The increase is the first in the past six months. Petrol price in Delhi was increased by Rs. 7.54 a litre to Rs. 73.18 with effect from midnight Wednesday, the state-owned oil marketing companies said in separate, but identical, statements.

With rupee depreciation leading to jump in oil import bill, petroleum minister S. Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday said there is an immediate need to raise fuel prices, but refused to say when the hike will actually take place.

“It (price increase) is very essential but (before hiking rates) we have to talk to political parties,” he told reporters here on way to Ashgabat for signing of the agreement for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline.

India's state-run upstream oil firms will bear nearly 40 percent of the 1.38 trillion rupee ($25 billion) cost of retail fuel subsidies for the 2011/12 year, a government source said on Monday.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd and GAIL (India) sell refined products and crude oil to state fuel retailers at a discount. Government also provides a cash subsidy to cover some of their losses.

State-run upstream firms will give a total discount of about 550 billion rupees to Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, the source said.

Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), a public sector unit, will tie up with the UN to spearhead a major drive aimed at reducing the State's carbon footprint.

The idea is to get the State rid itself of kerosene lamps that lit up the rural landscape and replace them with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps.
FIRST STATE

If implemented, Kerala will become the first State to get rid of the kerosene lamp. This will also lead to significant fuel savings, Mr M. C. Mayin Haji, chairman, and Mr Febi Varghese, managing director, KSIE, told Business Line.

Plans to use UID cards to reach out to beneficiaries, following successful pilot project in Alwar, Rajasthan

The government said today that it planned to provide direct subsidy to beneficiaries of kerosene oil and a pilot project in this regard in Alwar district of Rajasthan was yielding good results. "Direct subsidy on kerosene is planned in future...We have to move towards it. It will be done using UID cards... We are benefiting from the pilot project," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh said in the Rajya Sabha.

Oil marketing companies have not revised petrol prices since December 1, 2011, despite sharp increase in international prices of petroleum products

With losses on sale of petrol climbing to over Rs 7 a litre, state-owned oil firms have asked the government to either provide subsidy on the fuel or reduce excise duty. "The public sector oil marketing companies have not revised the price of petrol since December 1, 2011, in spite of sharp increase in international prices of petroleum products," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh told the Lok Sabha here today.

June may turn out to be the luckiest month for government oil marketing companies for the third year in a row. Like the last two years, this June is also expected to see a round of price hikes in controlled fuel products. Price hikes of controlled petroleum products such as diesel, cooking gas and kerosene have been happening annually in the month of June, irrespective of the companies’ losses. A price increase of petrol is also likely.