The Union Cabinet gave its in-principal nod to the proposal to dilute the government’s 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) in favour of ONGC on Wednesday. In his budget speech, Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley had said that there was scope of integration in the country’s oil and gas sector.

The holding company approach was first proposed in 2005 by a committee headed by V Krishnamurthy. The committee, while concluding that the merger of oil PSUs may not be an advisable option, had suggested two alternatives, namely, creation of a holding company or a coordination body.

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