Oilfields Amendment Bill gets House approval

THE Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, that seeks to amend the existing law governing exploration and production of oil and gas as well as delink petroleum operations from mining operations.

- PREETHA NAIR @ New Delhi

The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 3, 2024.

Replying to the discussion on the bill, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India is the only country in the world where in the reference period of the last three years, the prices of petrol and diesel have actually come down. "We have brought down the prices of petrol and diesel because the prime minister reduced the central excise (duty) on two occasions," Puri said.

Prices in neighbouring countries are 15-25% higher than in India. Equally, prices in Western Europe and the US are much higher than in India, he said.