Author | Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Subir Ghosh and Jyotirmoy Chaudhuri |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Published | 2014 |
Publication place | India |
Media type | Print/E-book |
Pages | 588pp (Hardback) |
ISBN | 97-881-92855-127 |
Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis is a book written by Indian journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Subir Ghosh and Jyotirmoy Chaudhuri. The book was officially released on 15 April 2014. The book deals with the issue of irregularities in the determination of the price of natural gas in India. [1] [2]
In the book, the authors claim to cover all the issues regarding the extraction of natural gas from the Krishna Godavari Basin. After a few publishers refused to accept the book unmodified, the Guha Thakurta decided to self-publish it. He choose the internet as the primary mode of distribution to avoid facing litigation, like those faced by the publishers of The Descent of Air India and Sahara: The Untold Story . [3]
The book covers the various important aspect on the gas drilling in Krishna Godavari Basin. It also covers the legal dispute between Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani over the pricing of gas supply between their two firms. [3] [4] It discusses technical issues of deep-sea drilling. It also includes an investigative report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) of the alleged malpractices of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL). [3]
The books also claims the political system of India has created crony capitalism in India. It claims that in sectors like infrastructure and energy, a few firms are getting project deals in exchange for political contribution. The book claims the CAG report states that the government prepared contracts that were favourable to RIL and the Prime Minister changed Petroleum Ministers to favour the firm. [3]
This article needs to be updated.(July 2023) |
On 17 April 2014, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) sent a legal notice to the authors and the publishers. The notice claimed that the firm and its chairman were being defamed for personal gain. The notice also accused the distributors of the ebook version, Flipkart and Amazon, of conspiracy. Deepshikha Shankar, an event manager, who sent out the invitations for the book release was also accused by the notice. [1] [2] The notice claimed that the book was in contempt of the Supreme Court of India as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the Krishna Godavari Basin is still pending in the court. The notice alleged that the book has tried to create a negative image of the firm when the lawsuit is still under arbitration. [3]
The notice demanded that the sales of the book be stopped and all existing copies in all forms be destroyed. The notice also demanded a public apology and threatened litigation if their demands were not met. [1] [2]
Guha Thakurta responded to the notice by saying that the book was balanced as it quoted RIL's version of the events too. He mentioned that it also included interviews with RIL personnel like B. K. Ganguly. He said that the authors were exercising their right to free expression under the Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. He added that this was an act of intimidation and harassment and they will apply a proper legal response. [1] [2]
On 23 April 2014, RIL sent another legal notice to authors and distributors seeking ₹ 100 crore in damages, to be paid within 10 days of the notice. [5]
Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, India. Its businesses include energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, entertainment, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance is the largest public company in India by market capitalisation and revenue, and the 100th largest company worldwide. It is India's largest private tax payer and largest exporter, accounting for 7% of India's total merchandise exports. The company's motto is Growth is Life.
Dhirajlal (Dhirubhai) Hirachand Ambani was an Indian billionaire businessman who founded Reliance Industries in 1958. Ambani took Reliance public in 1977. In 2016, he was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour for his contributions to trade and industry. Ambani faced numerous accusations of market manipulation, tax evasion, and cronyism.
Gas War may refer to:
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian billionaire businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. He is the richest person in Asia and 11th richest in the world.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian businessman, chairman and managing director of Reliance Group. The Reliance Group was created in July 2006 following a demerger from Reliance Industries Limited. He led several stocks listed corporations including Reliance Capital, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Communications.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is the supreme audit institution of India, established under Article 148 of the Constitution of India. They are empowered to audit all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the State Governments, including those of autonomous bodies and corporations substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the statutory auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts supplementary audit of government companies in which the government has an equity share of at least 51 percent or subsidiary companies of existing government companies. The CAG is also the statutory auditor of the Lokpal.
Jio-bp, or legally Reliance BP Mobility Limited, is an Indian oil and gas company, owned by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). It is based in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is vertically integrated and is involved in hydrocarbon exploration, production, refining and also has interests in the downstream business and operates over 1700 Retail Fuel Outlets in India. It also operates the largest oil refinery in the world, situated in Jamnagar.
Network18 Group, is an Indian media conglomerate, based in Mumbai. It is owned by Reliance Industries. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, and Adil Zainulbhai is the chairman of its board of directors.
Reliance Power Limited (R-Power), formerly Reliance Energy Generation Limited (REGL) is a part of the Reliance Group. It was established to develop, construct, operate and maintain power projects in the Indian and international markets. Reliance Infrastructure, an Indian private sector power utility company and the Reliance ADA Group promote Reliance Power. The present CEO of Reliance Power is K. Raja Gopal since 2 May 2018.
Krishna Godavari Basin is a peri-cratonic passive margin basin in India. It is spread across more than 50,000 square kilometres in the Krishna River and Godavari River basins in Andhra Pradesh. The site is known for the D-6 block where Reliance Industries discovered the biggest natural gas reserves in India in 2003.
Reliance Retail is an Indian retail company and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Founded in 2006, it is the largest retailer in India in terms of revenue. Its retail outlets offer foods, groceries, apparel, footwear, toys, home improvement products, electronic goods, and farm implements and inputs. As of 2023, it has over 245,000 employees at 18,000 store locations in 7,000 towns. Apart from physical stores, the company also sells products on its e-commerce channels.
Pipeline Infrastructure Limited or East West Gas Pipeline(EWPL) is a project implemented to transport gas from Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) to Bharuch (Gujarat) including various spurs and interconnects on the way. EWPL traverses through the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. EWPL has been authorized as a common carrier pipeline. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of India Infrastructure Trust, which is owned by Brookfield Asset Management.
The East West Gas Pipeline supplies Natural gas to RIL's vast petrochemical complex at Gujarat and delivers gas to numerous customers via branch line connections along its length. The pipeline system features multiple compressor stations, numerous metering facilities at branch take-offs and an advanced control and communications network. The project is the first and largest privately owned cross-country pipeline in India and the backbone of India's burgeoning natural gas grid.
The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani is an unauthorised biography of the Indian business tycoon and founder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Dhirubhai Ambani by Hamish McDonald, an Australian journalist and author. This book was published in 1998 in Australia by Allen & Unwin but never published in India.
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is an Indian journalist, writer, publisher, documentary film maker and teacher. He has been a guest faculty member at IIM Ahmedabad for 18 consecutive years, and also taught at the IIMs at Calcutta and Shillong, the University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Asian College of Journalism and Jamia Millia Islamia among other educational institutions. He is the only Indian journalist referred to in the famous Hindenburg Report on Adani.
Subir Ghosh is an Indian journalist and writer, whose works have appeared in print and online since 1991. His areas of focus are environment, human rights, conflict and Northeast India.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 22 telecom circles. Jio offers 5G, 4G and 4G+ services all over India. Its 6G service is in the works.
Rabi Narayan Bastia is an Indian geoscientist and the Global Head of Exploration at Lime Petroleum, Norway, known for his contributions in the hydrocarbon explorations at Krishna Godavari Basin (2002), at Mahanadi Basin (2003) and at Cauvery (2007). A non-executive director of Asian Oilfield Services Limited and the President at OilMax Energy, Bastia is a recipient of the Odisha Living Legend Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to Science and Technology.
Nita Ambani is an Indian philanthropist and businesswoman. She is the chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and a director of Reliance Industries. She is married to Reliance Industries Limited's chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani. With a family fortune estimated in excess of US$117.8 billion, the Ambanis are among the richest in the world. She is also an art collector and the owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai Indians.
The Rafale deal controversy is a political controversy in India related to the purchase of 36 Rafale multirole fighter aircraft for a price estimated at €7.87 billion by the Defence Ministry of India from France's Dassault Aviation. The origin of the deal lies in the Indian MMRCA competition, a multi-billion dollar contract to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) with a transfer of technology.
Jio Platforms Limited is an Indian multinational technology company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Established in 2019, it acts as a holding company for India's largest mobile network operator, Jio, and other digital businesses of Reliance.