Moily is not Reddy

Things have started looking up for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) since M. Veerappa Moily took over as the Petroleum Minister.

Unlike S. Jaipal Reddy, his predecessor, Moily does not appear to be keen to take India's biggest company head on. The minister has indicated that he is ready to negotiate with Reliance rather than taking on them in arbitration tribunals. Given the investments hanging in balance, no one can criticise Moily for taking that stance. However, the project has drawn fire from all quarters, including high-decibel activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal.

Reddy was the petroleum minister from January 2011 to October 2012. During his stint, RIL found itself struggling on a number of fronts with the ministry, particularly over the issue of dipping production at the iconic KG-D6 block, off the Andhra Pradesh coast.

Within three months of Moily taking over, things seem to have changed for Reliance. He gave the green signal to a request for additional work to be carried out in RIL's Cauvery block, off the east coast. This application had been submitted in Reddy's time but was rejected.

RIL got some more good news when the a panel headed by Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, recommended linking the prices of domestic gas with international prices.

The positive signals from the corridors of power in Delhi are the icing on the cake for Reliance, which has just reported stellar results for the quarter ended December.

RIL shares were trading at 924.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1.27 pm, up 0.43 per cent.