In what was immediately interpreted by government watchers as a sign of the growing clout of Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia in economic policy making, Mr Mukesh Ambani met the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman on Monday for an hour.
It was not clear what transpired during the meeting as Mr Ambani simply rushed out of the Yojana Bhawan (headquarters of the Plan body), while Mr Ahluwalia blandly described it as a courtesy call.
Mr Ambani’s company, Reliance Industries, and the Government are in the process of initiating arbitration for disallowing recovery of expenditure for infrastructure development in the KG-D6 block.
The potential penalty amount involved is more that $1 billion. Reliance Industry has also demanded that the KG-D6 gas price be increased from April 1, 2014, after the current rate regime of $4.205 per mmBtu ends.
Since June 27, Mr Ambani is the third leading industrialist to visit Yojana Bhawan.
Before him, the Kingfisher Airlines’ Chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya, and Vodafone India’s Non-Executive Chairman, Mr Analjit Singh, had come calling.
The Planning Commission and its Deputy Chairman, Mr Ahluwalia, are in the limelight after the Prime Minister took over the Finance portfolio on June 26.
It is widely believed that the Prime Minister is managing the Finance portfolio in close consultation with Mr Ahluwalia and Dr C. Rangarajan.
This might be the reason why top industrialists are making a beeline to Mr Ahluwalia’s office.