National:

India's total population is now 1.21 bn, sex ratio worst in Haryana India's total population stands at 1.21 billion, which is 17.7 per cent more than the last decade, and growth of females was higher than that of males. According to the final census released by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, India's total population as on March 1, 2011 is 1,210,726,932 or 1.21 billion an increase of 181.96 million persons in absolute number of population during 2001-11. There was an increase of 90.97 million males and increase of 90.99 million females. The growth rate of females was 18.3 per cent which is higher than males 17.1 per cent. India's population grew by 17.7 per cent during 2001-11, against 21.5 per cent in the previous decade. Among the major states, highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Bihar (25.4 per cent) while 14 states and Union Territories have recorded population growth above 20 per cent. Urban proportion has gone up from 17.3 per cent in 1951 to 31.2 per cent in 2011. Empowered Action Group (EAG) states have lower urban proportion (21.1 per cent) in comparison to non EAG states (39.7 per cent). Highest proportion of urban population is in NCT Delhi (97.5 per cent). Top five states in share of urban population are Goa (62.2 per cent), Mizoram (52.1 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48.4 per cent), Kerala (47.7 per cent) and Maharashtra (45.2 per cent). Literacy rate in India in 2011 has increased by 8 per cent to 73 per cent in comparison to 64.8 per cent in 2001. While male literacy rate stands at 80.9 per cent which is 5.6 per cent more than the previous census, the female literacy rate stands at 64.6 per cent -- an increase of 10.9 per cent than 2001. Smart card for prisoners introduced in Bihar Bihar government has provided multi-purpose smart cards to prisoners in jail so that they can buy things from canteen through cashless transaction among mother use. The service was launched in Beur central jail on experimental basis by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Nearly 2100 inmates of the jail had been provided with the cards. After monitoring its success in Beur, the scheme would be introduced in 55 other prisons of the state. The card could be recharged through payment by relatives of the prisoner or by himself through earning as wage while working in jail. There is a bar on maximum cash in a card. For convicts the upper limit of cash is Rs 2000 per month while for undertrial it is Rs 2500 a month. To avoid misuse of card by another prisoner, there was provision of biometric authentication. The card holder by inserting smart card in Information Kiosk could acquire details like court cases, remission and status of wages. Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit in most powerful on planet list Twelve Indians have found their place in the global magazine Foreign Policy's ambitious list of the '500 most powerful people on the planet', including Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit and Baba Ramdev. Given India's strategic position in the southeast Asian region and its continuous battle against terror, three have been chosen under the 'force' category of the list. They are Defence Minister A K Antony, RAW chief Alok Joshi and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon. Sonia Gandhi is No 3 in The Indian Express' '100 Most Powerful Indians, 2013'. Harin Raval resigns as ASG Additional Solicitor-General Harin P Raval, who wrote to the Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati that he had been made a scapegoat in the coalgate controversy, has submitted his resignation to the Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. In the CBI status report filed in the Supreme Court in March, he submitted that the draft status report was not shared with the government. But later, the CBI Director filed an affidavit stating that the report was shared with the Law Minister, a Joint Secretary in the Coal Ministry and an official in the Prime Ministers Office and this sparked a furore. CAT 2013 from October 16 to November 11 The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have announced the dates for the Common Admission Test 2013 (CAT 2013) for admissions to top management institutes in the country. The test will be conducted over 20 days from October 16 to November 11. According to a release, CAT vouchers will be available at select Axis Bank branches from July 29 to September 24 and the registration window will be open from July 29 to September 26. IIM Indore is conducting the test. Four new testing locations have been added this year Surat, Udaipur, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada, increasing the total number of locations to 40.

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Girl protection scheme launched The Andhra Pradesh government has launched girl child protection scheme 'Bangaaru Thalli' binding on future governments as well in the State. Periodical cash benefits, which the girl child was entitled to under the scheme right from her birth, would be ensured from June. In the initial stages of the child, the money would be deposited in the bank account of the mother. The scheme would cover 90 per cent of the States population as 2.20 crore white cards existed in Andhra Pradesh, each accounting for two children on an average, besides parents. A girl would be eligible to get a total sum of Rs.50,500 and another sum of Rs.50,000 would be allowed if she successfully completed intermediate or Rs.1 lakh on completion of graduation. Besides, she would also get another total of Rs.60,600 through other regular girl schemes such as Janani Suraskha Yojana, Sukhi Bhava, pre-matric/post-matric scholarships, Rajiv Vidya Deevana etc. Indian Embassy issues fresh guidelines for OCI card holders The Overseas Citizens of India card holders, while travelling to India, must carry the OCI booklet and their passport having U visa sticker, the Indian Embassy has said. While the OCI card provides its holder a multiple entry, multi-purpose life-long visa for visiting India, in many cases its holders are required to apply for its re-issuance, including re-issuance of new passport for those below 20 and above 50. For an applicant who is 21 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue OCI documents each time a new passport is issued. However, if applicant desires, he/she can request that the OCI documents be re-issued so that the OCI documents reflect the correct passport number.

International:
Indian-origin woman Asha Patel short-listed for 'best job in world' An Indian-origin woman in the UK has been shortlisted out of 600,000 applicants for the post of Western Australia taste master, described as one of the "best jobs in the world". Asha Patel, who grew up in Rushey Mead, Leicester, has been shortlisted along with 24 other people for the job that involves "eating your way round the state, foraging out the finest produce and uncovering the best bars and restaurants". The Australian state's tourism website has described it as "one of the best jobs in the world". The winners of each will spend six months carrying out the job of their dreams, getting paid USD 50,000 plus USD 50,000 living expenses, for the pleasure. Bangladesh gets first woman Speaker Bangladesh got its first woman Speaker with the election of Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury by the Jatiya Sangsad. She was the lone candidate. Dr. Chaudhury, State Minister in the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs , was nominated by the ruling Awami Leagues parliamentary party. Born in 1966, Dr. Chaudhury is also the countrys youngest Speaker. She will succeed Abdul Hamid who assumed presidency last week following the death of President Md. Zillur Rahman. Women now occupy many of the top posts, with the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Leader of Parliament, Foreign Minister and Agriculture Minister, all being women. A lawyer by profession, Dr. Chaaudhury entered Parliament for the first time as an MP from one of the reserved seats for women. She holds a Ph.D. from Essex University in the United Kingdom. Willem-Alexander sworn in as Dutch king The Netherlands Willem-Alexander was sworn in as Europes youngest monarch after his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated and his country hailed the avowedly 21st-century King with a massive, orange-hued party. She will now be referred to as Princess. Beatrix (75) shed a tear before signing the act of abdication at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, witnessed by Willem-Alexander (46) his Argentine-born Queen Maxima (41) and members of the government. Willem-Alexander, Maxima and Beatrix appeared in front of the crowds on the palace balcony, bedecked in roses and oranges, before heading for the enthronement ceremony. The Dutch monarch is sworn in before a joint session of the Houses of Parliament in the deconsecrated church, rather than crowned, because church and royalty are separated in the Netherlands.

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Mush barred from contesting polls for life Virtually sealing his political comeback plans, a provincial High Court has banned former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf from contesting elections for the rest of his life on a day another court put him in judicial custody till three days after the general elections on May 11. A four-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court headed by Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan imposed the ban while dismissing Musharrafs appeal challenging the rejection of his nomination papers for May 11 general election. The lifetime ban was imposed because Musharraf had abrogated the Constitution twice and detained judges during the 2007 emergency. Musharraf was barred from contesting polls to the national and provincial assemblies and the Senate.

Business & Economy:

No wealth tax on farm land Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has allayed apprehensions over the imposition of wealth tax on agricultural land within urban area limits to provide a big relief to farmers, especially in Haryana and Punjab. He relaxed the tax benefit-related residency norms for foreign investors routing funds through countries such as Mauritius and lowered the withholding tax rate to five per cent from 20 per cent on interest payments on investments by non-residents in long-term infrastructure bonds and corporate debts. TRC will be accepted as proof of residency Setting at rest the confusion that had been created over the taxability of investment through countries such as Mauritius and Cyprus, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, has asserted that the tax residency certificates (TRCs) issued by a foreign government would be accepted as proof of residency for the purposes of availing of benefits under tax treaties. The TRC alone would render it difficult for foreign investors routing funds through low-tax countries such as Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore to avail of tax benefits under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA). China pips US to become world's biggest PC market China has become the world's biggest market for personal computers with industry specialists saying it received 69 million shipments of PCs in 2012. In the process, China trounced the US which was the biggest PC market till 2011. China has already become the biggest internet market in the world with more than 500 million users. Indian economy to grow at 6.1% FY'14 World Bank has scaled down India's growth forecast to 6.1 per cent for the current fiscal from 7 per cent projected six months ago. The decline in the growth forecast is largely due to the decline in agriculture sector which is expected to grow at 2 per cent during 2013-14 against the previous estimate of 2.7 per cent despite normal monsoon projection. As per the latest India Development Update of the World Bank, Indian economy would grow by 6.1 per cent in 2013-14 on account of robust domestic demand, strong savings and investment rate. Growth projections for 2013-14 has been arrived at by taking into account present internal and external factors. Buy property over Rs 50 lakh, pay 1% of value as tax Even if a buyer of a flat or land does not have Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN), he will have to deduct 1% of the gross amount he pays to the seller and deposit it with the revenue department. The onus of deducting and depositing 1% of the gross value of the property lies with the buyer. This provision will apply for a property value of over Rs 50 lakh, with effect from June 1, 2013. The seller can claim 1% tax paid by the buyer from the revenue department. While depositing the amount, he has to mention the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the seller. The seller, while filing his I-T return, can take credit for the amount. Repo rate may be cut by 25 basis points There is widespread expectation in money markets that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will cut its repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) in its annual monetary policy. However, opinion is divided on whether the central bank will reduce the cash reserve ratio - the percentage of deposits that banks have to compulsorily maintain with RBI. Page 3 of 4 1st May 2013

Reliance Jio, five others join to set up under-sea cable system Telecom carriers Vodafone Group of the U.K., Telekom Malaysia from Malaysia, Omantel from Oman, Etisalat from the UAE, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Dialog Axiata from Sri Lanka have formed a consortium to set up an 8,000-km-long Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) submarine cable system to link Malaysia and Singapore to the Middle East, with connections reaching out to India (Mumbai and Chennai) and Sri Lanka. The cable system is designed to provide upgradable and transmission facilities by having 100 Gbps capability. This cable system is expected to carry commercial traffic by the end of 2014. OVL raises $800 m to fund asset buys in Azerbaijan ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), said it had raised $800 million to part-finance its recent acquisition of interest in an oilfield in Azerbaijan. OVL floated a five-year $300 million unsecured bond and a 10-year note for $500 million. The notes, which were unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by ONGC, were oversubscribed with an order book aggregating close to $3 billion from investor accounts. The oilfield, which is located in the South Caspian Sea, about 95 km off the coast of Azerbaijan, is the largest oil and gas field complex in Azerbaijan and one of the largest producing oil fields in the world. RCom in roaming tie-up with Aircel Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom) has tied up with Aircel for intra-circle roaming (ICR) to provide hassle-free service to its customers. The company has also unveiled a 2G GSM network expansion plan which would bring down the capital expenditure involved in laying telecom infrastructure. Rcom said it would expand its pan-India network significantly through strategic 2G GSM ICR agreements with other existing operators. Stone laid for Jindal Steels power plant in Jharkhand President Pranab Mukherjee, has laid the foundation for Jindal Steel and Powers (JSPL) 1,320 -MW thermal power plant at Godda district in Jharkhand. The captive power plant, with an estimated cost of Rs.8,500 crore, will use coal from the Jitpur coal block and water from the Sunder Dam, Gumani and Jalhara river. It will be the first mega power project in Santhal Pargana region in the states eastern region, and is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to 20,000 people.

Sport:
Haryana win 3rd Women National hockey championship Haryana defeated Railways 4-1 to win the third Hockey India Senior Women National Championship. Meanwhile, Jharkhand defeated Punjab 2-1 to finish third in the championship. Ministry receives more than 50 nominations for Arjuna awards The Sports Ministry has received about 50-60 nominations from across all Nationals Sports Federations (NSFs) for the prestigious Arjuna award and another 30-40 recommendations for the Dronacharya award within the deadline that ended on April 30, 2013. The nominations include the names of cricketer Virat Kohli for Arjuna award and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar for the Dhyanchand award (lifetime achievement), recommended by the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI). April 30 was the last date for receiving nominations for the Arjuna, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya and Dhyanchand awards.

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