The Indian economy could expand between 6 and 7 percent in the year to March 2010, despite a bad monsoon, the finance minister said on Saturday.

India's energy giant Reliance Industries said Tuesday it had struck oil in the Cambay basin in western India but it did not reveal the estimated size of the field.

Renault chief Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday the French automaker would launch a low-cost car in the Indian market in 2012 in a tie-up with India's Bajaj Auto.

India may be among the first Group of 20 nations to begin winding back fiscal stimulus after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said faster economic growth would allow the measures to be withdrawn.

India is still adding a staggering 15 million new mobile phone connections a month but the world's fastest-growing cellular market has hit rough waters.

The Indian government is pushing ahead with economic reforms aimed at achieving a growth rate of more than 7 percent next year but will make sure the benefits reach the poor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Sunday.

The International Monetary Fund sold 200 metric tons of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for about US$6.7 billion, its first such sale in nine years.

India's central bank announced Tuesday that it would keep key short-term interest rates at their current record lows to support the economic recovery process while trying to ensure price stability.

India's central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Tuesday, opting to support a nascent economic recovery instead of tackling rising prices, economists said.

India said Saturday a long-delayed auction of radio bandwidth for third generation (3G) telecommunications services will start in January and will be open to foreign companies.