New Delhi: Anil Ambani met Manmohan Singh on Wednesday morning at the PM's residence. The two had a one-on-one meeting that lasted for about an hour.
The visit comes days after Anil lost a major business battle in court against his estranged brother, Mukesh. The government was also involved in this case, which involved the sale of gas from Mukesh's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to Anil's Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL) power plants. (
Watch: SC verdict on Ambani feud: Advantage Mukesh)
The Supreme Court ruled that gas is a national asset, which gives the government the sole right to decide its price and supply. That means that Mukesh is not obliged to provide gas from his RIL fields in the Krishna Godavari basin at $2.34 per unit to Anil's power plants. That price was listed in a family agreement between the brothers in 2005 after their father, Dhirubhai Ambani, died, and they split his empire. (
Read:Petroleum Ministry on implications of Ambani gas verdict)
Mukesh later said that price was too low. The government agreed, arguing that private parties, in this case, the Ambanis, could not enter agreements not sanctioned by the government for commodities like gas, which cannot be privately-owned.
The Supreme Court has given the brothers six weeks to renegotiate their contract.
Today's meeting is being seen as an effort by Anil Ambani to put forth his viewpoint to the government on the gas issue. Before meeting the Prime Minister, Anil Ambani also met the Principal Secretary to the PM, TKA Nair for about 10 minutes. Later in the day, he is expected to meet the power secretary and may even meet Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.