The government will permit exports of pesticides that are banned for sales in the domestic market on a case to case basis, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Thursday. Addressing a webinar organised by industry body FICCI and Dhanuka Agritech on agro-chemicals, Tomar said the agriculture ministry will give "permission for exports on a case-to-case basis". He said the ministry will double the timeline to submit suggestions by stakeholders on its draft order dated May 14 that proposes to ban 27 pesticides. The ban will be effective from the date of final notification. The ministry has sought suggestions from the various stakeholders within 45 days. The use of 27 insecticides are likely to involve risk to human being and animals, the order said. A senior agriculture ministry official said that notification for extending the time for inviting comments to 90 days will be issued soon. On the Pesticides Management Bill, which has been introduced in Parliament, the minister said the government has made provisions of penalty and imprisonment in the proposed law to check manufacturing and sales of spurious products that can have an adverse impact on crops. However, he asked the industry to send their suggestions if this objective could be achieved without such provisions. The minister stressed on the need to increase expenditure on research and development in the agro-chemical sector by both the government and private players. Highlighting the achievement in the Indian agriculture sector, Tomar said the country has harvested bumper rabi crops and witnessed sharp rise in the sowing of kharif crops despite the nationwide lockdown to control coronavirus disease. He expressed confidence that farm sector GDP will grow. Earlier, Dhanuka Agritech Chairman R G Agarwal said the proposed ban would affect both farmers and manufacturers. He said at least 12 out of 27 products were being widely used in major agri producing countries and demanded that the government should withdraw this draft order. Pesticides industry body PMFAI on Tuesday opposed the government''s proposal to ban 27 pesticides, stating that it would result in business loss of worth Rs 6,000 crore and benefit China, besides affecting farmers'' interest with substitutes being four-times costly. Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) President Pradip Dave had sought an investigation by a high powered scientific panel on the proposed ban of these 27 pesticides. The draft order was against the spirit of Make In India, Atmanirbhar Bharat and the mission of doubling farmers'' income by 2022, he had said. "These 27 generic pesticides have a total market of Rs 6,000 crore, of which Rs 4,000 crore are domestic sales and Rs 2,000 crore exports. We will lose this entire business," Dave had said. According to industry data, the total market size of Indian pesticides industry is around Rs 40,000-42,000 crore, of which around half is domestic sales and rest exports.

With natural gas prices being cut by 18 percent using the new pricing formula, industry body FICCI on Friday advocated a mechanism that adequately remunerates country's exploration and production activity and helps ramp up domestic supplies.

With the UPA II-regime getting into exit mode, the tenth round of oil and gas auctions are likely to be postponed till a new government comes to power.

It is not only the ministry of finance that has shied away from taking a call on whether a new revenue-sharing model should be adopted for oil and gas blocks. Even the Planning Commission has asked the petroleum ministry to put the process on hold.

Adding to this, the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government had created a roadblock for the auctions - New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) - by withdrawing clearance for nine blocks in the Cambay basin, seeking a higher revenue share from the Centre. "The finance ministry is yet to give us a reply on what to do on the policy front. Moreover, the Planning Commission has asked us to put the process on hold till the time clarity comes on whether to go ahead with a revenue-sharing model or not," a senior petroleum ministry official told Business Standard.

In 2013, a panel, headed by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chief C Rangarajan, had proposed a revenue-sharing model for NELP-X. However, contrary to this view, a committee, led by Vijay Kelkar, batted for continuation of the current model of production sharing contracts for deep water oil and gas exploration, taking into account of the lower potential in India. This model allowed the operator to recover the costs in advance before sharing profits with the government.

Moreover, Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily had even hinted at going for a mixture of both the models together.

"Since fiscal terms are not clear, NELP-X is unlikely to happen during this government's tenure. Moreover, the withdrawal of on-land blocks by Gujarat has also cast shadow on it. Moreover, data and blocks are not yet revealed on public domain," said R S Sharma, head of the FICCI Hydrocarbon Committee and former chairman of ONGC.

In January, the government had unveiled 46 blocks for offering in NELP-X, the first auction round in two years. This included 17 onland areas, 15 shallow water and 14 deep sea blocks. In terms of the number of blocks on offer, this round was supposed to be the highest, but with all the nine blocks from the Cambay basin out of race, only seven onland blocks are remaining with Mumbai and five blocks with Andaman basins too.

The decision of not extending the tax holiday on exploration of oil blocks being offered in the ninth round of bidding under the NELP had impacted that round too.

Though the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has decided to double the price of domestic gas to $8.4 a million British thermal unit (mBtu), the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) is still considering the older rate - $4.2 an mBtu - for clearance of discoveries.

On December 10, 2013, DGH had rejected two discoveries of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) - D39 and D41 in the KG-DWN-2003/1 block - that had made declarations of commerciality (DoCs) on the basis of the older gas price, calling those unviable.

This was even as the government had on June 27 decided to double the domestic gas price. Besides, on December 19, it also cleared the decks for a higher rate for RIL, despite a shortfall in production from the company's KG-D6 fields, provided a bank guarantee to cover the shortfall was furnished (unless it was proved there was an intentional hoarding of gas). A three-member committee is to monitor the quantum of production shortfall from the D1 and D3 fields and decide the amount of bank guarantee to be given by the company. A notification on this is likely to be made shortly.

According to a source close to the development, DGH had stuck to its stand of January - that the D39 and D41 discoveries were unviable - and had not considered a review even after the CCEA decision to go for the Rangarajan pricing formula and double the gas price from April 2014. Based on a DoC filed by RIL in January 2013, DGH had said: "D39 and D41 generated negative net present value (NPV) of $520 million, considering the incurred cost of $305 million."

Also, it turns out, DGH decided not to review its stand even as the Planning Commission, in its half-yearly review of on the energy sector in September, batted for the new gas price as the basis for New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp) fields' pricing. According to a source close to the development, the Planning Commission Member (energy) had said: "Some of the Nelp fields that were not viable at the price of $4.2 an mBtu might be viable under the price recently announced by the government."

R S Sharma, former ONGC chairman & chairman of Ficci's hydrocarbons committee, said: "As of today, no official channel can say the price is going to be $8.4 an mBtu. There is no notification in this regard to say the price will be exactly $8.4 an mBtu. They have gone on the basis of the current situation. No one wants to take a futuristic decision that might land one in trouble."

Subsidies on petroleum products have taken heavy toll on India's energy sector as the bill of $164 billion in the past 10 years could have been used for a tenfold increase in ONGC's foreign assets, or for research and development, petroleum secretary Vivek Rae said.

The government heavily subsidises cooking gas and kerosense and charges below-market rates for diesel, putting a severe burden on refiners as well as upstream companies that are asked to share a part of the burden. ONGC executives said the burden is making it difficult for it to invest in enhanced oil production from the giant Mumbai High field.

"ONGC Videsh Ltd would have been 10 times bigger than what it is today if India did not spend so much money on subsidising petroleum products. ONGC and Oil India alone contributed close to $60 billion for subsidies and they do not have capital today," Rae said at a panel discussion organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

India competes with China and other countries to acquire oil and gas assets in different parts of the world to boost its energy security. ONGC's overseas arm leads the initiative but other state-run firms have also invested abroad in oil and gas assets. However, the country has lagged behind China, which has acquired much bigger assets abroad.

Subsidies have encouraged heavy consumption of natural resources, Rae said. "However, efforts are on to reduce subsidy burden of the country on petroleum products as petrol price has already been decontrolled while diesel price is being raised by 40-50 paisa per litre every month. We have capped number of cooking gas cylinders to nine a year per family but kerosene is a sensitive product and hence it has remained untouched," Rae said.

Rae said the ministry was working hard to resolve various issues in the oil and gas sector. He said the ministry had presented a 285-page document before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on natural gas price hike for Reliance on Thursday to seek its approval with riders. He said this was a landmark decision that would transform the energy scenario of India. In next few weeks, Rae expects the Cabinet to take a call on Kirit Parikh committee report on pricing of diesel and cooking gas.

Commenting on questions raised against natural gas price hike from a section of central ministries and consumers Rae said: "We are clear about our fundamental objective to acquire more assets and produce more oil and natural gas. We are not disturbed with the noise of democracy."

Rae stated that it takes 30 days in America to get approvals to drill well while the same takes 30 months in India and we have to increase ease of doing business in India.

Some government departments have supported the oil ministry's move to allow Reliance Industries to charge the new gas price for all its fields in return of a bank guarantee in view of the on-going dispute over the fall in production from the KG-D6 block.

Officials said this would expedite the move to notify the new gas price that will applicable from April next year, government officials said. "Planning Commission has favoured taking bank guarantees from Reliance and notify the Cabinet's approved formula without any change," an official with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. The law ministry has also supported the proposal, the official said requesting anonymity.

"All eyes are now fixed on the formal comments of the finance ministry. In fact, one company should not hold the entire sector to ransom. Besides, the sentiment was also expressed by PM yesterday," the official said.

While inaugurating the Asia Gas Partnership Summit on Tuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said "technology and market-based pricing" were key factors that led to the global shale gas revolution. Officials interpreted it as an endorsement of the new gas price formula, which would double the price to $8.4 per unit.

The oil ministry did not notify the Cabinet-approved gas price formula in June after some departments sought to deny higher prices for Reliance's KG-D6 fields that produced much lower gas than the approved production plan. The ministry initially proposed to deny new price to gas produced from RIL's existing gas fields in the D6 block. But it later proposed to secure bank guarantees that could be encashed if it is determined that the company deliberately indulged in hoarding of gas. "RIL's issue is under arbitration. If Reliance is forced to sell gas at old rates and later it wins the arbitration, it would be almost impossible to recover money from consumers. Therefore, bank guarantee is a better option," the official said.

At an investor's meet in Mumbai last month, oil minister Veerappa Moily had said the government would formally notify the new pricing formula in three weeks.

GAIL (India) Ltd, the country's biggest natural gas distributor, today said it is in talks to acquire Ophir Energy's 10 per cent stake in gas blocks in Tanzania.

“We are in talks irrespective of Singapore's Pavilion Energy reportedly buying half of Ophir's stake. We continue to be in dialogue,” GAIL director (marketing) Mr Prabhat Singh said on the sidelines of the 8th Asia Gas Partnership Summit.

GAIL was keen to buy part of Ophir Energy Plc's remaining 20 per cent stake in blocks 1, 3 and 4, which are estimated to hold an estimated 15 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves.

Pavilion last month offered to pay $1.3 billion for a 20 per cent stake in three gas blocks offshore Tanzania in East Africa.

While Singh refused to give details, industry sources said GAIL had put a price of about $600 million for a 10 per cent interest.

Pavilion Energy, established by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek earlier this year, in a statement last month announced the acquisition saying the transaction is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.

The firm said it has “entered into an agreement to purchase 20 per cent interest in Tanzania blocks 1, 3 and 4 from Ophir Energy for a consideration of $1.288 billion.”

Coal India Ltd. (CIL) is under restructuring process, and plans to improve production by enhancing mining development operator (MDO) mode in consultation with the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry, Coal Secretary S. K. Srivastava said here on Monday.

Addressing a conference on ‘Re-energising Indian coal sector: interventions through policy, competition and technology,’ organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Mr. Srivastava said close monitoring of the evacuation system through the Railways had been undertaken.

He said CIL was co-ordinating with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and state governments to resolve the issue of clearances. He said 14 coal blocks had been awarded to Central and state utilities, totalling 159 million tonnes to fuel 30,000-35,000 MW of power. “As the Railways, road and other means of transport are under pressure, the use of inland waterways is increasingly been seen as a cost effective and efficient mode of transport of coal to industrial users,’’ he added. A FICCI- Metis Energy Consulting knowledge paper was released on the occasion. Mr. Srivastava said the auction of coal blocks to private companies would definitely take place in the current fiscal. “There are a lot of issues which have to be resolved, and definitely we would like to do it (auction of coal blocks) in this financial year,’’ he later told reporters.

On the number of coal blocks to be put up for the auction, he said it was being worked. The government, which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche, was targeting to auction 10 blocks now.

The Cabinet had earlier approved the methodology for auctioning coal blocks, providing for upfront and production-linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices.

The government on Monday said that the auction of coal blocks to private companies will definitely take place during the ongoing financial year.

'There are a lot of issues which have to be resolved and definitely we would like to do it (auction of coal blocks) in this financial year,' Coal secretary S K Srivastava told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by FICCI.

Asked about the number of coal blocks to be put up for the auction, he said: 'We are working on it. We will come out with a substantial number of blocks.'

He also added that since the government will have to fix floor price, it would only be allotting explored blocks.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that the auction of mines would begin in December.

The government, which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche, is targeting to auction 10 blocks now, an official had earlier said.

The Coal Ministry has asked CMPDIL, the mine planning and consultancy company of Coal India, to assess the reserves of four more mines and submit its report by next year, the official added.

The Cabinet had earlier approved the methodology for auctioning coal blocks, providing for upfront and production -linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices.

Coal blocks will be put up for auction after the Environment Ministry reviews them and bidders agree to a minimum work programme, an official statement said recently.

The government today said the auction of coal blocks to private companies will definitely take place during the ongoing financial year.

“There are a lot of issues which have to be resolved and definitely we would like to do it (auction of coal blocks) in this financial year,” Coal Secretary, S K Srivastava said on the sidelines of a conference organised by FICCI.

Asked about the number of coal blocks to be put up for the auction, he said: “We are working on it. We will come out with a substantial number of blocks.”

He also added that since the government will have to fix floor price, it would only be allotting explored blocks.

Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal had earlier said that the auction of mines would begin in December. The government, which was initially planning to auction six mines in the first tranche, is targeting to auction 10 blocks now, an official had earlier said. The Coal Ministry has asked CMPDIL, the mine planning and consultancy company of Coal India, to assess the reserves of four more mines and submit its report by next year, the official added.

The Cabinet had earlier approved the methodology for auctioning coal blocks, providing for upfront and production—linked payments and benchmarking of coal sale prices. Coal blocks will be put up for auction after the Environment Ministry reviews them and bidders agree to a minimum work programme, an official statement said recently.

The government today said the auction of coal blocks to private companies will definitely take place during the ongoing financial year. "There are a lot of issues which have to be resolved and definitely we would like to do it (auction of coal blocks) in this financial year," Coal Secretary S K Srivastava told reporters on the sidelines of a conference organised by FICCI. Asked about the number of coal blocks to be put up for the auction, he said: "We are working on it. We will come out with a substantial number of blocks." He also added that since the government will have to fix floor price, it would only be allotting explored blocks.

A conference on potential of plastics industry in North India was organised by FICCI jointly with the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Neelkamal Darbari, Joint Secretary (Petrochemicals). Dept. of Chemicals and Petrochemicals while speaking on the occasion said that use of plastic especially in agriculture has helped farmers increase crop production, improve food quality as also in more efficient usage of water resources.

Harendra K Rajora, vice-president, HPCL, highlighted the fact that plastic industry which he said has a turnover of above Rs 90,000 crore and employs above 3.5 million persons, is a vibrant segment of industry. Per capita consumption of plastics is only about 7-8 kgs in India compared to about 95 kgs in USA and about 65 kgs in Europe and world average of above 26 kgs.

The conference also tried to dispel misconceptions regarding the polluting characteristic of plastic It was noted that while the usage and benefits of plastics are manifold, it invariably gets branded as a polluting material. Speakers at the conference highlighted the point that plastics are chemically inert substances and they do not cause either environmental or health hazards.

Speaking on the issue of plastic waste management the conference pointed out that if plastics can be collected and disposed off or recycled as per laid down guidelines then the issue of plastic waste can be suitably addressed. It stressed on the wide scope for industries based on re-cycling of plastics waste. Karan Avtar Singh, principal secretary (Industries), Punjab government and Rajan Kohli, advisor FICCI, also spoke on the occasion.