Officially announcing its participation in the arbitration proceedings initiated against it by Mukesh Ambani-led RIl, the Government on Thursday named former Supreme Court judge GS Singhvi as its arbitrator.
After the Government decided to postpone the implementation of the new gas price regime as suggested by the Rangarajan panel (which would have doubled the gas price from $4 per mmBtu to $8 per mmBtu), RIl and its partners BP Plc of UK and Canada’s Niko Resources had on June 17 served an arbitration notice on the Government naming london-based Sir David Steel as its counsel.
The new price regime was to come into effect from April 1, 2014, however the then UPA Government had deferred its implementation till after the lok Sabha elections.