Mining giant Vedanta had on November 18 confirmed putting an expression of interest (EoI) to buy out the government's 52.98% stake in the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)

If Agarwal's Vedanta buys BPCL, it will pit him directly against Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani in the oil sector

The government is selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in India's second-largest fuel retailer and third-biggest oil refiner

State refiners, which together own about 60 percent of India's 5 million barrel per day (bpd) refining capacity, had to reduce the amount of crude they process as storage facilities filled up with unsold products due to a slump in demand

Lockdown in india latest news: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that no new coronavirus cases have been reported in the state since April 3

BPCL operates four refineries in Mumbai, Kochi, Bina (Madhya Pradesh) and Numaligarh (Assam) with a combined capacity of 38.3 million tonnes per annum

The government currently holds 53.29% stake in BPCL, and at prevailing market prices the share sale would fetch about Rs 60,000 crore to the government

A FASTag comes with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that is linked to the customer's saving account

Keen to get multi-nationals in domestic fuel retailing to boost competition, the government is mulling selling most of its 53.3 percent stake in BPCL to a strategic partner

Privatisation of BPCL will not just shake up fuel retailing sector long dominated by state-owned firms but also help meet at least a third of the government's Rs 1.05 trillion disinvestment target

The 0.75 % discount on the value of fuel purchases using credit/debit cards and e-wallets was introduced in December 2016 and had continued for more than two-and-a-half years, straining oil marketing companies

Saudi Arabia, which traditionally has been India's top oil source, lost the slot to Iraq during the last two financial years, but this is set to change after the Saudi Aramco-Reliance Industries deal

If the Modi government goes ahead with the proposal, you may soon be able to buy petrol, diesel from supermarket. The move will also open the gates for multi-brand retail majors such as Future Group and Reliance Retail as well as global players such as Saudi Aramco, Total and Trafigura to enter the booming business.

The Cabinet note being readied by the government is likely to suggest bringing down the minimum requirement for companies trying to get into the retail fuel segment.