
Much against Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s wishes, it also okayed the issuance of oil bonds to bridge the Rs 73,500-crore deficit arising from surging global oil prices.
Upstream firms like ONGC, GAIL and Oil India will chip in Rs 24,000 crore by way of discount on crude oil, LPG and kerosene they sell to oil retailers and stand-alone refiners.