Will Jaitley fire up the LNG industry?
When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in one of his earlier Budgets shared the government’s commitment to a gas-based economy, he created a buzz in the otherwise stagnant oil & gas industry. But, as he prepares to present his fourth Budget, the industry is still waiting for the intent to become reality. Besides, this time around, Jaitley may not enjoy the advantage of soft oil & gas prices, and this may trim the sops. While it is becoming amply clear that subsidy is not really high on the Finance Minister’s agenda, he might go for measures to promote LNG — right across the value chain: imports, infrastructure, pooling — and LPG for domestic use. Whether he will pay heed to the industry demand and tinker a bit with the Oil Industry Development .....