Domestic gas producers will have to wait for 45 days more to get some clarity on the new gas price, with the government saying on Wednesday that it had deferred the much-awaited decision on new pricing guidelines till November 15. Since it assumed power in May this year, this is the second time the National Democratic Alliance government has postponed its decision on the crucial issue.

“The decision has been extended till November 15. It is part of the decision-making process,” telecom and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. When asked the reason for the deferment, Prasad said: “I am surprised we are focusing on this when so many other important decisions have been taken today (Wednesday).”

Rio De Janeiro: Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) discovered natural gas in a well being drilled to help measure the potential of a giant Brazilian offshore find, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday.

Petrobras owns 75% and its Indian partner Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) 25% of the discovery.

The discovery was made in an extension well being used to evaluate the Poco Verde prospect in the BM-SEAL-4 block. The well was drilled in 2,196 meters of water 58km off the coast of Aracaju, the capital of Brazil’s Sergipe state.

Sustained dollar demand from importers and weakness in local equities on Wednesday pulled the rupee down for a third straight day, with the currency ending two paise lower at 60.97 against the greenback.

Heavy selling by foreign funds yesterday in local stocks and better dollar overseas also kept the rupee under pressure.

In a bid to increase the liquidity of its stock, State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to split its share in the ratio of 1:10. This means, one equity share with a face value Rs 10 will be split into 10 shares of Re 1 each.

“The central board of SBI at its meeting has approved to reduce the face value of equity shares of the bank from Rs 10 per share to Re 1 per share and to increase the number of issued shares in proportion thereof,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will soon issue a discussion paper to formalise and address issues pertaining to the Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) funding.

"Work is going on to make lives easier for private equity players that invest in listed companies. The discussion paper will address issues the industry is facing, and after public consultation, formal guidelines would be issued," said a source.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank on Wednesday launched a savings account for minors above 10 years of age.

The account will offer a personalised cheque book and a debit card with a picture of his or her choice, the bank said in a statement.

Infosys’ new chief executive officer (CEO) has come up with a novel approach to reviving the financial fortunes of India’s trailblasing outsourcing firm: use Facebook at work, tweet, but get the job done.

Infosys has long been run as a conservative company known for keeping strict tabs on work hours and sometimes fining employees for not wearing ties on specific days. Such cheerless self-regard could not have come at a more challenging time, analysts say.

In a tragic incident, an overload private bus plunged into Gobind Sagar reservoir of Bhakra project in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday morning. According to reports from Bilaspur, at least 30 persons are feared drowned and 16 person injured.

Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kumar, who rushed to the spot alongwith Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) Tarun Shridhar in state helicopter, said, “So far 25 bodies have been fished out and the bus has also been brought out of the deep waters.”

Markets are trading flat in the noon trades with select metal and power stocks losing the most after the Supreme Court in its verdict today cancelled most of the coal blocks allocated. However, buying in the defensive stocks have limit losses.

At 2:38PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 27 points 26,803 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 1 point at 8,018.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled all coal block allocations except for government-run blocks that operate on a non-JV basis.

The criteria fits just four of the 218 blocks that were deemed illegal by the court in its August order.

Media reports said exempted coal blocks included allocations to NTPC, SAIL and Sasan UMPP.

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