Privatisation appeal considered

The Indian Government is considering an appeal against a judgement by the supreme court that blocked moves to privatise two state-owned fuel companies.

The Indian minister for privatisation (disinvestment), Arun Shourie, has met the law minister, Arun Jaitley, to consider the options before the administration.

The supreme court last week upheld an appeal by a workers' union arguing that the two firms - the Bharat Petroleum Corporation and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation - had been nationalised by the country's parliament and therefore only the parliament, not the federal cabinet, could sanction their sale.

The two companies together control 40% of India's retail fuel market.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service