Govt sets up a four-member panel to re-examine gas pricing

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has set up a four-member panel of secretaries from different ministries to work out a new gas pricing mechanism, a senior official at the oil ministry said on Friday.

The first meeting of the panel will be held on Monday, said Rajive Kumar, additional secretary in the oil ministry.

Apart from Kumar, other panel members include secretary of expenditure in the finance ministry, power secretary and fertiliser secretary - all top-ranking bureaucrats.

"It (the gas pricing) will be re-examined comprehensively and we will have consultations with major stakeholders," Kumar said, referring to producers and buyers.

In June, India had deferred gas pricing to end September saying the complex issue needed more discussion.

India is a large importer of energy. Its net energy imports amounted to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year that ended in March.

India's gas demand far exceeds output, but prices have been kept low for key industries such as fertiliser and power, deterring investment in the gas sector.

Kumar hoped the panel could work out in two-to-three weeks a mechanism, which could then be submitted to the federal cabinet.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Malini Menon)