Minister of State for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasada said on Wednesday he had urged the farm ministry to raise the price at which government buys grains from local farmers to offset the hike in diesel prices.India last month raised retail prices of diesel by 5 percent and announced that government control on pricing would end."I have suggested this hike could be factored in MSP (minimum support price) to cushion farmers," Jitin Prasada told Reuters.He said the farm sector accounts for 12 percent of over 60 million tonnes of diesel consumed every year in the country.On Monday, opposition parties shut down parts of the country in a nationwide protest against higher fuel prices, but analysts said the government was unlikely to back down on efforts to cut subsidies and trim a budget deficit."It is very difficult to have a dual pricing of the fuel. Shopping malls and people driving Mercedes and sports utility vehicles do not deserve subsidy. Subsidy is meant for the poor," Prasada said.He said last year India introduced a similar mechanism to provide a subsidy on diesel to farmers in drought-affected areas. "Now the agriculture ministry has to work out ways for implementation," he said. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Surojit Gupta)News posted by www.newsinfoline.com
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