Ø The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new policy for the
auction of 69 small and marginal oilfields to private and foreign companies
that could unlock hydrocarbon reserves estimated at around Rs. 70,000 crore. Petroleum Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan said this “paradigm-changing” model — of sharing revenue
instead of profits and giving out unified licences for all hydrocarbons in the
field instead of a licence for each — could later be considered for the entire
sector. the successful bidders of the fields on auction would be free to sell
crude oil or natural gas at market-determined prices, without any government
interference.
Ø Reforms to some important laws such as the Mahatma Gandhi National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act are feasible through executive action, NITI
Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya told The Hindu in an exclusive interview.
He was responding to a question on possible reforms aimed at achieving a
double-digit GDP growth rate the government could undertake if continuing
disruptions in Parliament impeded its legislative agenda. “A variety of avenues
to reforms exist,” Dr. Panagariya said. One way to make land acquisition less
time-consuming, for instance, was for the States to adopt the Tamil Nadu govt’s
strategy.
Ø India is a worthy contender for inclusion in the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is throwing open its membership after
decades, says former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Addressing a
conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Rudd, head of the Asia Society Policy
Institute, an influential think tank in Asia, said the Institute has convened a
high-level task force to develop a strategy for India’s inclusion in the group.
He said India with its $2 trillion economy is a growing market for economies in
the region.
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