<div>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.<br /><br />The first meeting of the panel will be held on Monday, said Rajive Kumar, additional secretary in the oil ministry.<br /><br />Apart from Kumar, other panel members include secretary of expenditure in the finance ministry, power secretary and fertiliser secretary - all top-ranking bureaucrats.<br /><br />"It (the gas pricing) will be re-examined comprehensively and we will have consultations with major stakeholders," Kumar said, referring to producers and buyers.<br /><br />In June, India had deferred gas pricing to end September saying the complex issue needed more discussion.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Kumar hoped the panel could work out in two-to-three weeks a mechanism, which could then be submitted to the federal cabinet.<br /><br />(PTI)<br /> </div>
