Comments
After almost two decades, the crucial Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Gas is being headed by a Minister of State (Independent Charge).
Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP leaderand a Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar, who assumed charge of the Ministry on Tuesday, is said to have been rewarded with a ministerial berth for ensuring the party’s creditable victory in Bihar, where he was its campaign in-charge.
Directly under PM Those tracking the sector believe that having an MoS (Independent Charge) means that the Ministry will be indirectly governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After taking charge, Pradhan told mediapersons that he was aware of the challenges of the Ministry. “...lot of questions and episodes are linked with this Ministry. I accept those challenges...I will study and understand the issues...I will discuss them with officials concerned. I will speak to the senior members of the Government,” he said.
A post-graduate in anthropology, Pradhan assumes office at a time when the Ministry has been marred with controversies for favouring a corporate house — Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd — during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government. Issues such as pricing of the domestically produced gas, retail prices of auto fuels, and capping of LPG subsidy, have also haunted the Ministry.
Energy self-reliance Pradhan said energy self-reliance was important for the country to become an economic superpower.
Asked what his focus would be, he said the same as his party’s. “My focus will be on removing poverty...people have expectations from the Modi Government. Modi has already dedicated the Government for the poor.”
The Ministry is expected to make a presentation before the Prime Minister shortly. Some of the issues flagged by the officials in their presentation relate to decisions that should not have taken, such as the increase in the cap on supply of subsidised domestic LPG cylinders from six to nine and then to 12, the direct benefit transfer of subsidy in customer accounts being kept in abeyance, and loss of focus of the national oil companies, such as ONGC, with regard to domestic exploration.
The Ministry is also seeking clarity on engagement with Iran in view of the US sanctions.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.