Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi prefers jail in the National Herald case and will not take bail or even sign a personal bond on December 19, say party sources.

This strategy has been approved even by his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi, a source said. She has given the go-ahead as the party believes that no crime has been committed and it would also create a sympathy wave and highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vindictiveness not only against the Congress but all his opponents.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has pulled up state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for poor planning in hiring and use of drilling rigs, which resulted in a loss of Rs 7,995 crore.

The CAG said the firm lacked uniformity in preparation of annual rig requirement plan (RRP), delayed rig acquisitions and hiring, was inconsistent in deployment and had an inefficient repair and refurbishment policy.

Public sector power generation major NTPC Limited is exploring solar energy projects in Uttar Pradesh to boost its green energy profile and meet renewable energy targets.

Giving a major thrust for green and clean energy, the Maharatna company is targeting to achieve 10,000 MW of renewable energy by 2022.

The Bombay High Court may discard the evidence by the main prosecution witness Ravindra Patil in the 2002 hit-and-run-case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The court observed that evidence of the injured is not devoid of inconsistencies and the prosecution had failed to prove the truthfulness of the witness, who claimed that Khan was intoxicated.

It's difficult to accept the answer of witness Ravindra Patil (Salman's bodyguard), who said that car tyre burst due to impact. In a criminal trial it's the duty of the prosecution to establish its own case and not for the accused to prove his innocence, the High Court said.

India ranks fourth in black money outflows with a whopping USD 51 billion siphoned out of the country per annum between 2004-2013, a US-based think-tank's report said today.

Notably India's defence budget is less than USD 50 billion. China tops the list with USD 139 billion average outflow of illicit finances per annum, followed by Russia (USD 104 billion per annum) and Mexico (USD 52.8 billion per annum), according to the annual report released by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington-based research and advisory organisation.

Shares of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) have slipped almost 2% to Rs 1,298, also its 52-week on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day deals today.

Meanwhile, the company has secured orders worth Rs 1,960 crore across business segments.

A leading Pakistani TV channel today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Pakistan for the SAARC Summit next year.

Geo TV quoted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is here for the 'Heart of Asia' conference, for the news report but Indian officials said she had made no such statement.

Shares of IT major TCS gave gained 1.7% to Rs 2,368 on the BSE after the company in a filing to the BSE stated that Oman Housing Bank (OHB) has chosen TCS BaNCS Universal Banking to provide an enhanced end-customer experience in its endeavor to become a leading housing finance bank in the region.

Oman Housing Bank (OHB) will replace its home-grown legacy systems with a comprehensive solution from TCS BaNCS covering loans, deposits, origination, payments, funds transfer and compliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he hopes that Russia would not have to use nuclear weapons against ISIS.

As reported by Russia Today, Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian cruise missiles fired against terrorists in Syria from the sea. He also expressed hope that these weapons would not have to be armed with nuclear warheads.

The rupee recovered by 6 paise to 66.78 against the dollar in early trade today on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.

Forex dealers said dollar's weakness against other currencies overseas as falling oil prices renewed low inflation concerns ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week, too supported the rupee.

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