Finance Ministry to issue oil bonds worth 24,000 cr

New Delhi, Aug 19: Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said the Finance Ministry has agreed in principle to release oil bonds worth Rs 24,000 crore for the first quarter to the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to partly offset their under-recoveries.

''The Finance Ministry has estimated an under-recoveries of Rs 48,000 crore for the first quarter, 50 per cent of which will be compensated through oil bonds,'' Mr Pandey told reporters here. Earlier, the Finance Ministry said 50 per cent of the total under-recoveries will be made through the issuance of oil bonds. The Secretary said once Parliament meets, the Finance Ministry is expected to get approval for the issuance of oil bonds.

The PSUs had initially projected a total under-recovery of Rs 51,922.70 crore in the first quarter of 2008-09, which was pruned to Rs 43,252 crore by the government, consequently reducing its burden in the form of oil bonds.

UNI