Daily News Roundup - June 19 2012

With natural gas output from its Krishna Godavari (KG) - D6 block dipping to all-time low, Reliance Industries has proposed to drill first exploration well in almost five years on the flagging D1 and D3 gas fields there. (BS) ONGC has started commercial production of gas from the North Tapti offshore marginal gas field. (BL) Ashok Leyland has bagged a US$6.5-mn order from Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation for 88 air-conditioned buses. (BL) A large number of companies across power, steel and cement sectors, including Tata Steel, Bhushan Steel, Hindalco, Essar Power, Jindal Steel & Power, Sterlite, Adani Power, Lanco and Monnet Ispat, may find their dealings with the coal ministry being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the allocation of captive coal blocks between 2006 and 2009. (ET) Adhunik Metaliks (AML) is slated to commission a 1.2-mn-tonne pellet plant in Jamshedpur for merchant sales in the eastern region. The company has now turned its focus to value addition of iron ore fines due to slower demand from the auto sector. (ET) IDFC Real Estate Investments is planning to raise a US$500-mn real estate private equity fund, joining a handful of other funds that are on the road to raise fresh capital in the midst of a protracted slump in the sector. (ET) McNally Bharat Engineering Co Ltd will be responsible for operations and maintenance for petroleum coke handling system for Guru Govind Singh Refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab. (BL) Jet Airways said it will temporarily suspend services to New York (JFK) from September 10, though it would continue to operate to Newark International Airport. (BL) PowerGrid Corporation of India is planning to get into distribution business. (BS) Air India has begun talks with some lenders to lease large portions of its iconic headquarters in a bid to secure much-needed rental income at a time the pilots’ strike has badly affected operations. It estimates that it can earn about Rs.360mn annually by letting out 15 floors in this 23-storey sea-facing building. (ET) The seven-year long wait to set up the greenfield steel project in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district may be over for Posco. The Odisha state government is all set to approve the much awaited tripartite agreement with South Korean steelmaker and its subsidiary Posco India. (ET) Economy Snippets Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao surprised the market by keeping the repo rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 8 % and 4.75 % respectively.(BS) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) wants foreign companies that win auctioned spectrum to commit they would not claim damages for cancelled licences under international treaties. It is seeking the insertion of a clause to this effect in the auction terms.(BS) Fitch Ratings has scaled down its credit outlook for India from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, owing to limited progress on fiscal consolidation and heightened risks to growth, which resulted from the tardy pace of structural reforms.(BS) High food inflation ensured that Consumer Price Index-based inflation remained in double digits for consecutive month in May, at 10.36 %, versus 10.26 % in April, on the back of vegetables, protein-based items and edible oil.(BS) India’s leading domestic airlines have agreed to slash airfares in their highest fare bracket by 5-20% after the aviation regulator directed them to rein in the "disproportionate" rise in ticket prices, which started from May 2012 - a period when demand for domestic air travel was declining.(ET)