Yet, on December 27, the Cabinet Committee on Divestment that was to finalise the sale of the public sector oil companies -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation -- failed to arrive at any decision.

In September, the government had put off the privatisation of HPCL and BPCL for three months following protests from various quarters.

But the rifts continue to exist.India may have made clear its intention to resolve the divestment imbroglio, but no major decision on that front has been taken yet.