2011

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Current Affairs
April 1

Praveen http://indiancurrentaffairs.wordpress.com 1/1/2011

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POLITICS AND THE NATION

Provisional Census 2011 data puts population at 1.21 billion

Highlights

India's population has jumped to 1.21 billion, an increase of more than 181 million during 2001-11.

The population is almost equal to the combined population of the U.S., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan (1,214.3 million).

The silver lining is that after 1911-21 the past decade (2001-11) witnessed the addition of smaller population than the previous decade's growth.

Of the total provisional population of 1,210.2 million, the number of males stood at 623.7 million and females at 586.5 million. The percentage growth in 2001-11 was 17.64 males 17.19 and females 18.12.

India's population accounts for 17.5 per cent of the world's. Among the States and the Union Territories, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous State with 199 million people, followed by Maharashtra with 112 million people. Lakshadweep is the least populated at 64,429 people.

The percentage decadal growth rates of the six most populous States have declined during 2001-11 compared with 1991-2001.

The population growth in Uttar Pradesh has declined from 25.85 per cent to 20.09 per cent, in Maharashtra from 22.73 per cent to 15.99 per cent, Bihar from 28.62 per cent to 25.07 per cent, West Bengal from 17.77 per cent to 13.93 per cent, Andhra Pradesh from 14.59 per cent to 11.10 per cent and Madhya Pradesh from 24.26 per cent to 20.30 per cent. This shows that though weve added population, the growth rate has been less.

The overall sex ratio nationwide has increased by seven percentage points to 940 against 933 in Census 2001. Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1,000 males.

An increase in sex ratio was observed in 29 States/Union Territories. Kerala with 1,084 has the highest sex ratio followed by Puducherry with 1,038. With 618, Daman and Diu has the lowest ratio.

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Three major States Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Gujarat have shown a decline in sex ratio as compared to Census 2001.

India's skewed sex ratio due to female foeticide determination has been a cause for concern.

and selective sex

However, the area of grave concern, remained the lowest ever child sex ratio of 914. The provisional data showed that the child sex ratio [0 to 6 years] came down to 914 females per 1,000 males against 927 in Census 2001. It showed a continuing preference for male children in the last decade.

An increasing trend in the child sex ratio was seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but in the remaining States/UTs, the ratio showed a decline.

While the overall sex ratio has improved since 1991, the decline in child sex ratio has been unabated since the 1961 Census. The total number of children in the age group of 0-6 is now 158.8 million, less by five million since 2001.

The literacy rate has gone up from 64.83 per cent in 2001 to 74.04 per cent, an increase of 9.21 percentage points.

The final population data is likely to be released next year. Registrar-General Chandramouli and Census Commissioner of India C.

At 914, child sex ratio is the lowest since Independence

The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 overshadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940 the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961 as it reflects a continued preference for a male child.

As per the provisional data of Census 2011 released on Thursday, while the overall sex ratio had gone up by seven points to touch 940, against 933 in Census 2001, the child sex ratio plummeted to 914 from 927.

Sex ratio is the number of women against 1,000 men, while child sex ratio is the number of girls against 1,000 boys in the age group of 0-6.

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The increasing trend has been seen in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while in all the remaining 27 States and Union Territories, the ratio has shown a decline.

It was the highest in Mizoram at 971, closely followed by Meghalaya (970), while at the rock bottom was Haryana with 830 and Punjab with 846.

At the district level, Lahul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh had the highest sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 at 1,013, while in Twang (Arunachal Pradesh), it was 1,005. It was shamefully low in Jhajjar and Mahendragarh (Haryana) at 774 and 778.

The census figures indicate an increase in sex ratio in 29 States and Union Territories, with women outnumbering men in Kerala.

There were 1,084 women against 1,000 men in Kerala, followed by Puducherry where the figure was 1038.

Daman and Diu has a sex ratio of 618, next only to Dadra and Nagar Haveli at 775. Among the districts, Mahe (Puducherry) has the highest sex ratio of 1,176, followed by Almora in Uttarakhand, where it is 1,142. In Daman, it is the lowest at 533, and in Leh of Ladakh, it is 583.

The three major States of Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Gujarat have shown a decline in the sex ratio compared with the figures of Census 2001, while 29 States and Union Territories have shown an increase.

Despite laws banning expectant parents from doing pre-natal tests to determine the gender of their unborn child, the illegal abortion of female foetuses is still common in some parts of India, where a preference for sons runs deep.

In parts of India, sons are traditionally viewed as the main breadwinners who will take care of the family, continue the family name, and perform the last rites of the parents - an important ritual in many faiths.

But daughters are often seen as a burden - not just because of the worry of having to pay a substantial dowry to get them married off, but also due to the need to protect their virginity, which often brings disrepute to the family if lost before marriage. The government banned sex determination tests using techniques

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like ultrasonography and amniocentesis in 1996, to stop parents aborting children when they were found to be female. But in states like Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat, as well as the capital, New Delhi, the practice continues, with private doctors offering the service illegally to those willing to pay. Social activists say the authorities have shown little will to implement and enforce legislation, with few prosecutions and even fewer convictions. They described the 2011 census as a "wake-up call" to the government and civil society to act before it is too late.

Significant rise in literacy level

The provisional data of the 2011 census released on Thursday gave the country good tidings on the literacy front, as the literacy level has increased by 9.21 percentage points in the past decade to touch 74.04 per cent.

Significantly, the female literacy level saw a significant jump as compared to males. The female literacy in 2001 was 53.67 per cent and it has gone up to 65.46 per cent in 2011. The male literacy, in comparison, rose from 75.26 to 82.14 per cent.

Kerala, with 93.91 per cent, continues to occupy the top position among States as far as literacy is concerned, while Mizoram's Serchhip district (98.76 per cent) and Aizawl (98.50 per cent) recorded the highest literacy rates among districts. Madhya Pradesh's Alirajpur district has the lowest literacy rate of 37.22 per cent as also the naxalite-affected Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, where the literacy rate is 41.58 per cent.

Lakshadweep followed Kerala with a literacy level of 92.28 per cent, while Bihar remained at the bottom of the ladder at 63.82 per cent, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 66.95 per cent.

Ten States and Union Territories, including Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Chandigarh, NCT of Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands achieved a literacy rate of above 85 per cent, which met the Planning Commission's target set to be achieved by 2011-12.

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The gap of 21.59 percentage points recorded between male and female literacy rates in 2001 census has reduced to 16.68 percentage points in 2011. The Planning Commission is targeting a reduction of this gap to 10 percentage points by 2011-12.

Prime Minister lays down reforms road map

Prime

Minister

Manmohan

Singh

on Thursday

laid

down the United

Progressive Alliance government's road map for financial sector reforms and infrastructure development and assured corporate honchos of a transparent and corruption-free environment to tackle the challenges facing the economy with confidence and without any fear or apprehensions. Dr. Singh listed the steps taken relating to enunciation of public procurement standards, formulation of a public procurement policy, review and abolition of discretionary powers enjoyed by Ministers, and introduction of an open and competitive system for the use of natural resources. Comprehensive steps have been taken to strengthen the intelligence and implementing institutions to combat the menace of black money and rein in corruption. The Prime Minister's candid statement was evidently in response to an Open letter' to political leaders by leading corporates such as Azim Premji, Keshub Mahindra and Deepak Parekh, in which they expressed serious concern over a series of scams leading to governance deficit. At the meeting attended by corporate stalwarts, Dr. Singh assured them that economic and financial sector reforms would continue.

Tax reforms

The Prime Minister pointed out that while tax reforms, especially the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax, were a very important part of the government's agenda, so was financial sector reforms.

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Govt is also committed to major reforms in education and skill development Legal reforms aimed at reducing delays are another key priority, he said. On the financial sector, he stressed the need for developing long-term debt markets and to deepen corporate bond markets, which in turn required strong insurance and pension sub-sectors. Reforms in insurance involve legislative changes. Govt has taken initiatives in this area and will strive to build the political consensus needed for these legislative actions to be completed.

New challenges owing to an increasingly open engagement with the world economy

Effective management of the consequences of rising oil, food and commodity prices, political upheavals in many countries and unprecedented natural disasters in various parts of the world.

Managing inflation and food inflation in particular, has been a problem. Govt has to deal with it in a manner that the growth rhythm is not disturbed. Govt has pursued prudent fiscal and monetary policies to strike the right balance between growth and inflation.

Rs. 378-crore aid for GPS-aided navigation system

The government on Tuesday approved a one time grant-in aid of Rs. 378 crore as budgetary support for implementation of GPS-aided Geo

Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN). The GAGAN system, estimated to cost Rs. 774 crore, would make the skies from South-East Asia to Africa, including Indian airspace, much safer. The prestigious project, being developed jointly by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), would place India in the fourth position along with the U.S., Europe and Japan to have such an advanced navigation system. The project was expected to be ready for operational use by May, 2013.

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It would be an all-weather national infrastructure and can be used by defence services, security agencies, railways, surface transport, shipping, telecom industry besides personal users of position-based services. It will provide precision approach to all aircraft either landing at Indian airports or overflying the airspace, even over the high seas. The system will offer seamless satellite navigation to air traffic across the Indian Ocean region.

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BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India - Joseph Lelyveld

Union Law Minister yesterday announced that the central government would ban the book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India.

Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure empowers authorities to proscribe books if they contain material that breaches the peace or causes communal tension.

The biography, allegedly portrays that Mahatma Gandhi was bi-sexual and as a racist.

Pulitzer prize-winning author Joseph Lelyveld's biography, "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India", details correspondence in 1908 between the freedom fighter and Hermann Kallenbach, a German-Jewish bodybuilder.

Reviewers for U.S. and British newspapers cited a letter in which Gandhi writes to Kallenbach about "how completely you have taken possession of my body" as proof of his bisexuality.

Lelyveld has denied his book says Gandhi was bisexual. In October, a Rohinton Mistry novel, "Such a Long Journey", was removed from Mumbai University's syllabus following threats against the author from far-right political group Shiv Sena.

Rohinton Mistry in race for Man Booker

India-born Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry, American master of letters Philip Roth and British spy novelist' John le Carr are among the 13 finalists for the -60,000 Man Booker International Prize, awarded once in two years for life-time achievement.

Mr. le Carr, however, who famously does not compete for prizes, asked for his name to be withdrawn. However, the prize authorities said his name would remain on the list.

The list includes two Chinese writers, Wang Anyi and Su Tong, both highly regarded in their own country and abroad.

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Other finalists include: Juan Goytisolo (Spain); James Kelman (United Kingdom); Amin Maalouf (Lebanon); David Malouf (Australia); Dacia Maraini (Italy); Philip Pullman (U.K.); Marilynne Robinson and Anne Tyler (both U.S.). The winner will be announced at the Sydney Writers' Festival on May 18.

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WORLD AFFAIRS

Libya - Gaddafi warns West war could spin out of control

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi warned the Western powers mounting air strikes on his country they had unleashed a war between Christians and Muslims that could spiral out of control.

Western states intervened in Libya after the United Nations authorised them to protect civilians it said were under attack by pro-Gaddafi forces, but Tripoli says the military intervention in an act of unwarranted aggression.

"If they continue, the world will enter into a real crusader war. They have started something dangerous that cannot be controlled and it will become out of their control," said a text from Gaddafi.

Gaddafi gave regular televised speeches in the first days of the conflict but he has not been seen in public for several days. Officials say he has been forced to change his routine after an air strike hit the heavily-guarded compound in Tripoli where he has his main residence.

NATO assumes full command

NATO had agreed on Sunday to take over all operations from a coalition led by the United States, France and Britain. The move puts the 28-nation alliance in charge of air strikes that have targeted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's military infrastructure, and of policing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo.

However, despite nearly two weeks of Western air strikes, Gaddafi's troops have succeeded in the past few days in pushing back rebels who were trying to press westward along the coast from their stronghold of Benghazi towards the capital Tripoli.

NATO officials say alliance planning foresees a 90-day operation, but the timetable will depend on the United Nations.

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Syria - Assad takes steps towards reforms

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, facing a wave of protests demanding greater freedoms, took steps on Thursday towards addressing grievances including lifting emergency law and granting disenfranchised Kurds rights.

Assad, who drew international criticism for failing to spell out reforms in his first public comments on Wednesday since unrest swept Syria, also ordered an investigation into protest deaths in the flashpoint city of Deraa and the port of Latakia.

Inspired by popular revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, the unrest has presented the gravest challenge to Assad's 11-year rule in Syria, which maintains an anti-Israel alliance with Shi'ite Iran and supports militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.

In the past, Assad has set up committees to investigate contentious issues but no announcements were made after the initial formation. Officials have repeatedly said a draft law on allowing political parties and lifting emergency law were on the agenda of Assad's Baath Party, but they never materialised.

Repealing emergency law, in force since Assad's Baath Party took power in a coup nearly 50 years ago, has been a central demand of protests in which 61 people have been killed.

Critics, diplomats and Syrian officials doubted Assad would abolish the omnipresent law, used to snuff out any opposition, justify arbitrary arrest and give free rein to the security apparatus, without replacing it with similar legislation.

The state news agency said on Thursday the panel would study and prepare "legislation including protecting the nation's security and the citizen's dignity and fighting terrorism, paving the way for lifting the emergency law".

It said the committee would complete its work by April 25, but did not elaborate.

Syrian officials in Assad's inner circle had said last week a decision had been taken to abolish emergency legislation. But Assad, in a speech to parliament on Wednesday, made no reference to rescinding the law, or set a timetable for mooted reforms including legislation on political parties, media freedom and fighting corruption.

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France to host May G20 meet on nuclear standards

France wants to host a meeting of G20 nuclear industry officials in May to discuss ideas for new global standards in the wake of the disaster in Japan, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday.

The G20 meeting would lay the groundwork for a special International Atomic Energy Agency conference on nuclear safety scheduled for late June.

A meeting of IAEA energy advisers has already been set for April 5 in Abu Dhabi. But French Energy Minister Eric Besson said on Wednesday that G20 energy ministers would meet before that to discuss safety tests on nuclear plants.

France is the world's most nuclear-dependent country, producing 75 percent of its electricity from 58 reactors.

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BUSINESS/FINANCE/ECONOMICS
Vodafone to buy Essar's stake in JV for $5 billion

The Vodafone group on Thursday said it would acquire 33 per cent stake of the Essar Group in its Indian telecom joint venture Vodafone Essar for $5 billion.

Going ahead, Vodafone will have to look for a new Indian partner to remain compliant with the FDI norms in the telecom sector of a maximum stake of 74 per cent.

With this, the Essar Group will exit completely from the joint venture Vodafone Essar that has now over 13-crore subscribers across India.

Vodafone had entered the Indian market in 2007 after buying the Hutchison's stake in the joint venture for over $11 billion and after that it had entered into an agreement with the Essar Group.

With 771 million mobile subscribers as of January, India is the world's second-biggest market for mobile services and is growing at a stunning rate, adding around 19 million a month.

But the carriers operate under wafer thin margins in the crowded 15-player market after a vicious price war sent call prices tumbling in the second half of 2009.

Vodafone chief executive - Vittorio Colao

FDI norms fine-tuned to attract more investment

Concerned over the continued decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the last few months, the Central Government on Thursday unveiled a major policy reform allowing flexibility for Indian companies to raise funds from abroad. At the same time, it plugged the loopholes for backdoor FDI entry breaching sectoral caps.

The new circular issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on Thursday states that under the new norms, Indian companies have been allowed to issue equity against import of capital goods and liberalise conditions for seeking foreign investment for production and development of agriculture seeds.

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The facility of conversion of capital goods import into equity was earlier available for companies raising external commercial borrowings (ECBs).

The Circular 1 of 2011 third edition of the Consolidated FDI Policy was part of ongoing efforts of procedure simplification and FDI rationalisation which will go a long way in inspiring investor confidence.

The government also removed the restrictive condition of obtaining prior approval of Indian companies for making investments in the same field.

In order to plug the loopholes in the system, the government has classified companies into two categories companies owned or controlled by foreign investors and companies owned and controlled by Indian investors.

The government has done away with the earlier category of investing companies, companies. operating companies and investing-cum-operating

The decision would have a bearing on the companies with majority foreign equity as they would now be classified as foreign companies. The policy guidelines are revised every six months.

It further said that the companies would be free to prescribe a formula for transforming convertible instruments (like debentures, partly paid shares, preferential shares and the like) into equity in accordance with the guidelines of FEMA and SEBI.

Earlier, they were required to specify upfront the price of convertible instruments. The decision would help the recipient companies in obtaining a better valuation based upon their performance, it added.

The fine-tuning of the FDI norms was aimed at ensuring the country attracted more and more FDI.

During the 11-month period (April-February) this fiscal, FDI inflows into India declined by 25 per cent to $18.3 billion.

100 % FDI allowed in some areas of farm sector

Tuning the policy norms further to attract declining foreign investment, the Centre on Thursday announced allowing 100 per cent foreign direct

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investment (FDI) in the agriculture sector, including seeds,

plantation, horticulture and cultivation of vegetables. According to Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 1 of 2011, 100 per cent FDI has been now allowed in development and production of seeds and planting material, floriculture, horticulture, and cultivation of vegetables and

mushrooms under controlled conditions. Besides, animal husbandry (including of breeding of dogs), pisciculture, aquaculture under controlled conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors have been brought under the 100 per cent FDI norm. Similarly, the tea sector has also been brought under the 100 per cent FDI norm. The DIPP has imposed certain conditions for companies dealing with development of transgenic seeds and vegetables wanting to take the 100 per cent FDI route. Under the 100 per cent FDI in tea sector, it demands compulsory divestment of 26 per cent equity of the company in favour of an Indian partner/Indian public within a period of five years prior to approval of the State Government concerned in case of any future land use change. The policy will come into effect from Friday April 1.

External debt up 14 %

India's external debt, including commercial borrowings and nonresident Indian (NRI) deposits, went up by 13.9 per cent to $297.5 billion by the end of December 2010 from $261.2 billion as of March-end that year.

According to a Finance Ministry statement here, the country's long-term debt increased by $26.0 billion to $234.9 billion, showing an increase of 12.5 per cent. The short-term debt showed an increase of $10.3 billion to $62.6 billion it said.

Of the country's total external debt, 21 per cent constituted short-term debt (original maturity) stock while the balance 79 per cent was longterm debt.

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The statement noted that of the total increase of $36.3 billion in external debt as of end-December last year, the valuation effect owing to depreciation of the U.S. dollar against major international currencies accounted for $5.3 billion (14.6 per cent).

Debt components

As for specific debt components, the share of commercial borrowings was the highest at 28.5 per cent, followed by NRI deposits (17 per cent) and multilateral debt (16 per cent).

The government's (sovereign) external debt added up to $74.5 billion by the end of December as compared to $67.1 billion by the end of March 2010. In effect, the share of sovereign debt in the country's total external debt stock declined from 25.7 per cent to 25 per cent during the period.

The highest share in external debt was that of U.S. dollar denominated borrowings at 53.7 per cent at the end of December 2010, followed by the Indian rupee (19 per cent), the Japanese yen (12 per cent), SDR (9.7 per cent) and the euro (3.5 per cent).

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SPORTS

World Cup Cricket Road to Mumbai Finale

India

Group B results

Beat Bangladesh by 87 runs in Dhaka Tied with England in Bangalore Beat Ireland by five wickets in Bangalore Beat Netherlands by five wickets in New Delhi Lost to South Africa by three wickets in Nagpur Beat West Indies by 80 runs in Chennai QF: India beat Australia by five wickets in Ahmedabad SF: Beat Pakistan by 29 runs in Mohali

Sri Lanka

Group A results

Beat Canada by 210 runs in Hambantota Lost to Pakistan by 11 runs in Colombo Beat Kenya by nine wickets in Colombo No result against Australia in Colombo Beat Zimbabwe by 139 runs in Kandy Beat New Zealand by 112 runs in Mumbai QF: Beat England by 10 wickets in Colombo SF: Beat New Zealand by five wickets in Colombo