Publications
Partners
New Delhi - India's government denied Monday it was considering shutting filling stations at night to reduce oil imports, a widely ridiculed measure reportedly under discussion to tackle a deepening economic crisis.
Oil Minister Veerappa Moily sparked the speculation on Sunday when he told a local news agency that "shutting petrol pumps during (the) night" was one of several austerity measures being assessed to cut the imports bill.
News of the proposal, a throwback to India's pre-liberalisation past when the government tightly regulated all parts of the economy, sparked feverish debate on television and Twitter.
It also apparently took the rest of the cabinet by surprise, leading to a formal denial issued via the information ministry.
"The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has clarified that there is no proposal under consideration of the government to allow sale of petroleum products from the retail outlets only during certain hours," said a statement.
Moily also later denied the plan, saying other measures were in the pipeline to rein in India's oil import bill.
"I am doing the brainstorming on the measures. I have not finalised this and it is at the very initial stage," he told CNN-IBN on Monday, adding he was likely to unveil the measures on September 16.
"But this closing of the pumps (fuel stations) is not part of the proposals."
Political parties including the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made fun of the plan.
"Won't the people fill their car fuel tanks in the morning? This is a strange move by Moily," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
The regional Trinamool Congress party, which withdrew from the coalition government last September over planned pro-business reforms, described the measure as "bizarre".
"They are making a laughing stock of themselves... this is such a bizarre suggestion," lawmaker Derek O'Brien told reporters.
India imports around 80% of its oil needs and its import bill has risen dramatically because of high global prices and a plunging rupee, which has hit record lows in recent weeks.
"For every one-rupee depreciation to the dollar, I lose about 80bn (rupees) ($1.2bn). That means (a fall) from 58 rupees to 68 rupees, I lost 800bn (rupees) and that's a matter of concern," Moily said.
The rupee closed at 66.00 from Friday's 65.70, snapping a two-day rally.
The country is struggling to shrink its current account deficit -- the broadest measure of trade -- which hit a record 4.8% of GDP last year and is straining foreign exchange reserves.
In another proposed measure, Delhi is also mulling increasing oil supplies from sanctions-hit Iran, which could save India $8.5bn in foreign exchange reserves, the Press Trust of India said.
Moily has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spelling out the strategy with Iran, which accepts payment in rupees rather than dollars.
"About 2 million tonnes (of) crude oil has been imported from Iran so far during the current financial year," Moily wrote.
"An additional import of 11 million tonnes during 2013-14 would result in reduction in forex outflow by $8.47bn."
New Delhi has launched a series of measures in recent weeks to try and plug the deficit amid a faltering economy and fears of a downgrade by ratings agencies.
The government has three times this year raised import duties on gold, the second biggest contributor after oil to the deficit.
On Sunday state-run Indian Oil Corp increased petrol prices by more than 3.5%, blaming the falling rupee, sparking opposition-led protests in parliament.
The government has partially deregulated petrol and raised diesel prices to try to reduce the massive subsidies it pays to state-run fuel refiners.
