Govt sets up 4-member panel to re-examine natural gas pricing

The government has set up a four-member panel of secretaries from different ministries to work out a new gas pricing mechanism.

The first meeting of the panel will be held on Monday, said Rajive Kumar, additional secretary in the oil ministry.

"It (the gas pricing) will be re-examined comprehensively and we will have consultations with major stakeholders," Kumar said, referring to producers and buyers.

Apart from Kumar, other panel members include secretary of expenditure in the finance ministry, power secretary and fertiliser secretary - all top-ranking bureaucrats.

The government has in June deferred gas pricing to end-September, saying the complex issue needed more discussion.

India is a large importer of energy. Its net energy imports amounted to 6.3 per cent of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year that ended in March.

India's gas demand far exceeds output, but prices have been kept low for key industries such as fertiliser and power, deterring investment in the gas sector.

Kumar hoped the panel could work out in two-to-three weeks a mechanism, which could then be submitted to the federal cabinet.

(Reuters)