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The has dropped plans to infuse Rs 15,000 crore in , , and as state have turned . The government did not allocate capital for infusion in state oil companies in the on Tuesday. It had allocated Rs 30,000 crore in last year’s budget to help oil companies pursue .

The proposed amount, however, was cut to Rs 15,000 crore in the interim budget presented in February this year as companies started turning profitable. “Oil marketing companies are cash-rich and largely self-sufficient,” said Gaurav Moda, India Energy Leader at EY. “They are expected to contribute significantly to the government's national capex spend plan, particularly towards an atmanirbhar and greener economy.



” Indian Oil, , and have reported a combined profit of Rs 80,986 crore in 2023-24 against a profit of Rs 1,138 crore in the previous year. From the very beginning, oil companies were not excited about receiving equity from the government as they could easily borrow for green projects from the market at competitive rates, multiple industry executives previously told ET. These companies, instead, wanted the government to compensate them for the losses incurred by selling petrol and diesel at below market rates in 2022 when the global prices had skyrocketed.

The government, however, didn’t want to compensate them for losses on fuels that are officially deregulated. In the budget, the government allocated Rs 332 crore for ‘Mission Anveshan’ or research in the petroleum sector, and another Rs 388 crore for appraisal of areas in India’s extended continental shelf. The allocation for appraisal of continental shelf would help India’s bid to acquire more data on exploration potential.

An industry executive, however, said the amount was not too significant given the enormous expenses involved in such tasks. Shares in , BPCL, and HPCL were trading 1-2% lower in the afternoon trade on Tuesday when the benchmark Sensex was up barely a few points..

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