Proposed ₹30,000 crore capital infusion in oil PSUs may be cut by half
proposed ₹30,000 crore of equity investments into Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) this fiscal year as these companies have clocked robust profits and don't need major financial support for their planned transition to green energy, said people familiar with the matter.
The government had announced its capital support plans for these state-run refiners last February in the FY24 Union budget. At the time, these companies were facing a difficult patch and were demanding compensation for the heavy losses they had suffered in the first two quarters of 2022-23 for not increasing retail fuel prices in line with rising international rates.
Since pump prices are deregulated in the country, the government didn't agree to the compensation but allocated a capital support of ₹30,000 crore in the budget, which could be used by the companies for their green transition projects, the people cited above said requesting anonymity.
To start with, the companies were not too keen on equity infusion by the government as, like debt, equity also needs to be serviced, several company executives told ET previously.
