(ET)
The government has constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine the key upstream reforms including total freedom for gas pricing as recommended by a Niti Aayog-led panel. The panel — set up in October after rocketing oil prices and a battered rupee inflated the import bill and drew government’s attention back to stagnant local oil production — has recommended sweeping measures like moving away from recently adopted revenue-sharing model for exploration licences, and gas pricing freedom for all discoveries that are yet to start production.
The group of ministers is led by the finance minister and includes ministers for commerce, coal, power, and petroleum, according to officials. The timing of the setting up of the GoM also surprised some officials, who were unsure on how much the GoM can achieve given the upcoming general elections.
