Against the backdrop of allegations by the RJD and the Congress that some results were being withheld by returning officers in Bihar, the Election Commission on Wednesday asserted that it was working with due diligence and was not under anyone's pressure.

Responding to allegations that victory certificates were not been handed over to candidates from the opposition grand alliance by returning officers on 119 seats, the Commission said the latest figures on its website state that while 146 results have been declared and trends of 97 other seats were available.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 3 per cent to Rs 640 on the BSE on Wednesday after the company reported healthy operational performance in the September quarter (Q2FY21). The stock of cars & utility vehicles company hit a 52-week high of Rs 666 on September 21, 2020.

The company’s operating margin (OPM) improved 370 basis points to 17.8 per cent in Q2FY21 against 14.1 per cent in Q2FY20.

ONGC Videsh (OVL) has signed definitive binding agreements with Australia’s FAR for acquiring 13.6667 per cent participating interest in exploitation area of Sangomar field and 15 per cent participating interest in remaining contract area of Rufisque, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) Block in Senegalese offshore.

The acquisition involves (i) an upfront consideration of $45 million with customary adjustments including the opening working capital as of January 2020 and the cash calls paid or to be paid from January 2020 onwards until completion (excluding any default interest paid / payable by FAR for any delay in cash call payments).

In wake of positive developments regarding the coronavirus vaccines, gold and silver prices are now showing a sharp decline. While gold prices touched the sky in the global market due to the pandemic, it has gradually started to recover.

The impact of the constantly changing gold prices in the futures market across the world is also visible on the domestic market of India. On Tuesday, gold came down by Rs 662 per 10 grams to Rs 50,338 per 10 grams. While the price of one kilogram of silver in Delhi has fallen by Rs 1,431 to Rs 62,217 per kg.

With 44,281 new COVID-19 infections reported in the last 24 hours, India's total coronavirus cases surged to 86,36,012, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Wednesday.

With 512 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll mounted to 1,27,571.

The BJP put up a winning performance in the Bihar Assembly elections leading the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to obtain majority even though Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal-United (JDU) posted a fall in total votes gained in a tightly fought race.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced results of Bihar Assembly polls in the early hours on Wednesday with the BJP winning in 74 of the 110 seats it contested and JD(U) bagged 43 seats out of the 115 seats it fought.

Airlines in Pakistan could be banned from flying to 188 countries over failure to keep up with the international standards as needed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), according to media reports. There could also be an issue of pilot licensing which could lead to the ban.

This development follows Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) already been banned from taking flights to the UK and the European Union after the licensing scam came to light which revealed that country's 262 pilots held fake credentials.

Bihar's ruling NDA marched ahead of challenger RJD-led Grand Alliance in Bihar, leading in 118 of the 225 seats from where initial trends of counting of votes for the assembly polls were available till 11 am.

The Grand Alliance was leading in 95 constituencies, including its chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav in Raghopur. His elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav was, however, trailing in Hasanpur.

Shares of Ashok Leyland hit a 52-week high of Rs 89.45, surging 6 per cent on the BSE on Tuesday, on expectation that the domestic truck and light commercial vehicle (LCV) sector recovery may continue to gather pace over the second half (October-March) of the current fiscal. The stock of the commercial vehicle company has outperformed the market in the past three months by surging 73 per cent, as against 13 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to85,91,730with 38,073 infections being reported in aday, whilethe number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 79,59,406 pushing the national recovery rate to 92.64 per cent,accordingto the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The coronavirus death toll climbed to1,27,059 with 448 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

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