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Our Bureau

MR R. SESHASAYEE

New Delhi , May 8

"India is deeply and excessively dependent on the imports of oil with more than 70 per cent of our total consumption being imported," Mr R. Seshasayee, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said here on Monday. Mr Seshasayee pointed out that the current situation of oil prices averaging $74 per barrel "makes a revision in oil prices in India, inevitable". He added that any further delay in oil price revision was inadvisable.

Mr Seshasayee also felt the need to reduce the dependency on imports. He said the country should target to cut consumption by seven per cent, which in turn "would translate to about Rs 9,000 crore of savings on the oil import bill at today's prices."

Currently, the country imports around 95 million tonnes of oil per year.

Mr Seshasayee stressed the need for adoption of large-scale accelerated conservation measures by the industry. He said price revision should be such that "no sector gets into any undue disadvantage." Mr Seshasayee said the CII represents the interest of the oil producing and marketing companies as well as the users and therefore, would advocate pro-active conservation measures so that the "country can look at a tangible target of reducing oil consumption".

He urged the Government to "immediately implement" the setting up of a regulatory mechanism for the petroleum sector.

More Stories on : Petroleum | Industry Associations

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