Gastro - nomics ?

May be India is suffering from Gastro-nomics

Or , from , Gas - to - Economics

Call what you may , the disease seems deadly  !

Minister Veerappa Moily , responding to Arvind Kejriwal's FIR , said :

" I sympathize with Arvind's ignorance. Gas pricing is a very complex issue "

What he would NOT say , is :

"  How dare you , Aam Aadmi , try to unravel in a few weeks , what took us years of hard work to complicate  ?

   To increase gas price from $ 2.34 to $ 4.20 to $ 8.40 , involves complicated calculations , - worse than sending a man to moon

   Couldn't you appreciate that all the odds were stacked against us  ?  "

Moily , Murli and Mukesh , would like us to leave it to the lawyers , the experts and the Supreme Court to decide what ought to be the FAIR and REASONABLE ( - please , don't ask , " to whom ? " ) , price of KG gas

But Aam Aadmi would like these experts to compile - and publish - some statistics re: the prices at which , companies around the World , produce and sell gas

As a aam aadmi , I would like to see a COMPARATIVE TABULATION of gas selling prices being charged all over the World , under following scenarios :

#   A

Domestic Companies which " extract " gas from the " Domestic Fields " of their own countries on a " Contract " basis ( deploying labor / management / technology / capital ) , on a " Production Sharing " basis

   At what prices do they sell that gas to ,

*   Their own local government / local companies

*   Overseas governments and companies

#   B

Companies which extract gas from " Foreign Fields " under a license from each foreign government or thru outright " Owning " of those fields

At what price do they sell gas to ,

*  Other companies of the host country

*  other companies world - wide

*  Companies in India

#   C

Purely " Trading " companies ( which do not engage in drilling / exploring / production )

At what price do they sell gas world - wide  ?  To India  ?

How much do their selling price to India differ from their prices world-wide ?

Experts will , no doubt , come up with other permutations / combinations

And they must

Because , we must try and get , as much of  " An Apple for an Apple " comparison , as possible , to arrive at meaningful conclusions

Other important questions that the Supreme Court will , no doubt ask , are :

>  World over , is there a definite co-relation between the " Cost of Production " and the " Selling Price " ?

    Or , is it just in India ?

>  What role does " World Market Price " play in determining the local selling price , all over the World ?

    Do gas selling prices in most of the countries , get determined by the world market prices ?  Or , is that a myth  ?

>  World over , what is the range of the " Rate of Return on Capital Employed " for companies like Reliance's " Petroleum business " ?

>  Would Reliance suffer massive losses if current price of $ 4.2 were to continue for a few more years ?

>  Will price of $ 4.2 , fail to attract foreign investments ?

>  Are  there sufficient grounds to suspect that the past - including recent past - decisions in regard to gas selling prices , were dishonest ?

>  Is there a clear case of collusion between Reliance and individuals occupying high positions in Central government  ?

>  Is there a clear case of corruption  ?

Don't expect answers to these questions , any time soon

There is no doubt , at least some answers are bound to embarrass some people  !

In any case , the mouse has dared to roar  !

And Aam Aadmi is cheering  !

*   hemen  parekh  (  12  Feb  2014  /  Mumbai )