Need for a fair pricing system for oil, gas & coal, says Chaturvedi
Speaking at the India Energy Congress on Friday, he said: “Energy prices need to be gradually aligned with the international market.”
With government increasing power tariffs and price of regulated fuels, the official said: “India is a highly price-sensitive market... pricing of coal is a major issue for the power sector. We should ensure that the input cost does not become so high that output price becomes highly uncompetitive.”
According to estimates, India imports about 80% of oil, 30% of gas and about 25% of coal.
Emphasising on the need for raising domestic fuel prices, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia earlier said that diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), coal and natural gas are underpriced in India.
“Indian coal is under-priced; some part of coal is sold through auction and the auction price is 30-40% higher. If this under-pricing is not altered then... incentives to invest have to be maintained by giving budgetary sops, which is simply not feasible," he said.
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