Govt to announce steps to cut fuel use

New Delhi: The government will announce steps to control fuel consumption on September 16. Foreign minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday that oil minister Veerappa Moily would address this issue with a set of new initiatives. "Conservation is an imperative. We cannot continue the way we are," Khurshid told TOI.      "It's a double whammy because we are subsidizing fuel but we have to controlour consumption," he added. The commerce ministry is making arrangements for oil trade with certain countries through escrow accounts in rupees. The finance ministry, meanwhile, is trying to maintain the health of the Indian currency.      Reports have said the government could announce a steep hike in diesel prices to bring down a spiraling oil bill by about $20 billion. The sliding rupee has raised India's oil bill by an estimated 50% since May 1. The import bill in the last fiscal year stood at $144 billion.      "No matter what happens, we will have to cut down on fuel consumption," Khurshid told a news channel. "You can't keep subsiding costs of fuel and not restrict the use of the fuel," he added.      Since January, oil marketing companies have been allowed to raise diesel prices in small bits at regular intervals, while bulk buyers have to buy diesel at international market rates. Petrol pricing has already been freed. India imports almost 80% of its fuel.