The recent output cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the outbreak of COVID-19 are the main reasons behind the fuel price hike in India, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on February 21.

The crude prices have been going up in the international market since November 2020, with the Brent oil rate hovering above $60 over the past few days.

"There are two main reasons behind fuel price rise. International market has reduced fuel production and manufacturing countries are producing less fuel to gain more profit. This is making the consumer countries suffer," news agency ANI quoted Pradhan as saying.

"We have continuously been urging the OPEC and OPEC+ countries that it should not happen. We hope there will be a change," he added.

The Indian government has decided to appeal against a $1.2 billion international arbitration award won by Cairn Energy Plc. in a tax dispute and to strongly contest all cases filed by Cairn in various international courts, said a person informed about the development. The move signals the government's resolve to defend its sovereign rights in taxation.

The government, however, has kept open possibility of a resolution within existing Indian laws, the person said. This indicates the government’s willingness to settle the tax dispute if Cairn choses to do so, under the direct tax dispute settlement scheme Vivad se Vishwas, which gives relief on interest and penalty if the principal tax demand is paid.

This comes in the wake of Cairn Energy chief executive officer Simon Thomson telling reporters on Thursday after a meeting with finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and senior officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that the dialogue was constructive and that it was ongoing. He had also said the company and its shareholders wanted a quick resolution.

Traders body CAIT has demanded a ban on Amazon after Reuters reported the e-tailer's selective and preferential treatment to select sellers on its platform for years. According to the report, Amazon used these select sellers to circumvent India’s foreign direct investment regulations.

According to the report, Amazon has played a “cat-and-mouse” game with India’s government. It continuously adjusted its corporate structure to adapt to India’s restrictions aimed at protecting small traders.

In a press release on Monday, CAIT President, Praveen Khandelwal sought the government to take action on large e-commerce firms, especially Flipkart and Amazon. He said these “shocking revelations” are enough to ban the operations of amazon in the country.

The government on Wednesday approved a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme worth 12,195 crores for telecom gear manufacturing in India.

The move aims to position India as a global powerhouse for production of such equipment ahead of 5G roll-outs.

The PLI scheme for telecom gear manufacturing will be operational from April 1, 2021.

“The government is positioning India as a global powerhouse for manufacturing, and has created a conducive environment for ease of doing business. It will be implemented from April 1…Majority of the international players are keen to come to India and some of them already have their footprints in India. We are going to give them encouragement,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications and IT said during a news briefing after the Cabinet meeting.

Government has increased the minimum and maximum price band on the domestic flight prices. As per a report, government has hiked the minimum price band by 10% and maximum price band by 30%. The price capping was put on domestic flight operators to keep the ticket prices in check due to the limited number of flights. The price capping was put in place on May 25 when domestic flights were restarted in a calibrated manner.

In a recent tweet, Puri explained the reason behind the price hike. Since May 2020, the price of crude oil has doubled to $60 per barrel. Consequently, the aviation turbine fuel has risen 300 percent to Rs 51,000 per kl. "In comparison, fare levels have risen by 10-30 percent," Puri noted. Due to the higher supply, most travel takes place at the lower band. While the occupancy levels are far from their highs, airlines will not charge the upper limit.