SME Times News Bureau | 14 Dec, 2011
The petroleum and natural gas sector has contributed Rs.136,497 crore to the national exchequer and Rs. 88,997 crore to the state coffers last fiscal, the government said Tuesday.

The sector's contributions were through cess, royalty, customs duty, excise duty and service tax, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R.P.N. Singh informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply Tuesday.

The minister said the government was currently providing a subsidy of Rs. 0.82 per litre on kerosene and Rs.22.58 per cylinder on domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the current fiscal.

The government is expected to bear a energy subsidy burden of more than Rs.180,000 crore this fiscal, which might increase due to a depreciating rupee.

"The burden of under recoveries incurred by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) on the sale of diesel, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG are compensated by the government through the burden sharing mechanism," Singh added.

The government provided Rs.44,371 crore to the OMCs through cash assistance, freight subsidy and natural gas subsidy in 2010-11.