Kirti parekh committee

If the Kirit Parikh panel has its way, petrol and diesel prices would go up by between Rs.3 and Rs.4 a litre immediately, wiping out “the under recoveries” of public sector oil companies and substantially reducing the level of government subsidies. For the cooking fuels — kerosene and LPG — it calls for a nuanced approach but even here an immediate price rice of about Rs.100 for an LPG cylinder and Rs.6 for a litre of kerosene sold through the public distribution system (PDS) is suggested. The expert group charged with the task of devising “a viable and sustainable system of pricing of petroleum products” has had to come up with a methodology of minimising, if not avoiding altogether, the burden of subsidies. The three major public sector companies are expected to end this year with a total of Rs.45,500 crore as “under recoveries,” with kerosene accounting for about Rs.17,420 crore and LPG Rs.14,152 crore.