India's cabinet approves uniform licensing policy for oil, gas exploration

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Wednesday allowed oil and gas producers to explore for shale oil and gas and coal bed methane under the existing contracts, a move aimed at unlocking the unconventional hydrocarbon potential of the world's third-biggest oil importer.

The policy would help reduce India's dependence on imported oil and save foreign exchange, India's interim finance minister Piyush Goyal said at a press conference.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)