The government is to provide a loan of Rs 7 billion to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to make the supply of petroleum products smooth.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers on July 15 decided to provide the amount to NOC, the state-owned petroleum importer and supplier, to pay the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) the dues it owes to the latter due to the adjustment in the price of petroleum products.

Addressing a news conference organized at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology today to make the Council of Ministers' decisions public, Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki informed that the Ministry of Finance has decided to provide the amount to NOC as it was short of money to pay to the IOC.

The Council of Ministers has likewise decided to provide through the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, to NOC Rs 598 million 680 thousand, the amount in lieu of price adjustment in terms of infrastructure tax on petroleum products.