Petro products to be cheaper: Naik
New Delhi: Petroleum minister Ram Naik on Friday hinted at further softening in retail petro product prices as strengthening rupee will reduce the landing cost of crude. The next price revision is due on May 31. “The appreciation in the rupee by around four percent in recent past will reduce the imported crude prices, the main basis of fixing retail prices in the international market,” Naik told reporters. Declining to give the quantum of price reduction, Naik said, “Much would depend on the international crude prices. We will have to wait and watch how prices move during the next week.” Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs 30.40 a litre while diesel is priced at Rs 19.18 per litre. With the rupee ruling at a two-year peak of Rs 46.90/91 a dollar, imports would be cheaper. This would benefit oil companies as they import 70 per cent of their crude oil requirement.
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Govt plans sops for toys sector to face competition
New Delhi: The government plans to provide sops to the highly de-centralised toy sector to enable it to face global competition. The proposed incentives will be in the form of benefits under the duty exemption passbook scheme, drawback etc, says commerce ministry joint secretary DK Mittal. Competition from China is insignificant considering that its exports of toys to the domestic market are around $2.5 million and that is the reason why the suo motu anti-dumping probe initiated by the commerce ministry two years ago was dropped, he says. Talking to the press here on Friday, Mittal said the ministry, in association with the Sports Goods Export Promotion Council and the Toy Association of India, would be launching “Spot India-03”, a highly specialised business-oriented fair to promote sports goods, outdoor leisure items, hobby items etc.
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Govt favours farmers on NMCE boards
Mumbai: The government is keen on farmers’ representation on the boards of nationwide multi-commodity exchanges (NMCEs). “This will bring more transparency in prices, trade and other related matters of commodity futures,” said department of consumer affairs secretary Wajahat Habibullah. “Such measures will provide confidence to farmers and they will come forward for hedging risk through commodity exchanges,” he added. Habibullah said that in this regard, the government has plans to set up District Consumer Information Centre (DCIC) in each district in the country, where commodity prices and other related information will be on display. Anyone interested in commodity futures and hedging can benefit from this.
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Perform to get funds for urban reforms: Centre
New Delhi: The government is planning to introduce a system of assigning weightage to different urban reform initiatives before releasing the states’ share from the urban reforms incentive fund. A memorandum of agreement will be signed between the department of urban employment and poverty alleviation and the states. Release of funds will be as per the weightages given to the agreed reform areas and conformation to achievement of the milestones given in the agreement. In case the states wish to sign the agreement to implement less than all seven reforms, they will be permitted to sign a truncated agreement, said a release from the urban development ministry here on Friday.
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