Terror struck Mumbai when three serial blasts rocked crowded areas in Zaveri Bazar, Dadar and the Opera House on Wednesday evening leaving at least 50 people injured in a grim reminder of 26/11 when 166 people were killed.In New Delhi, the Union Home Ministry said the multiple explosions were a terror strike and that Improvised Explosive Devices(IED) were used.According to govenment sources, 18 people were dead and 131 injured.Police said the nature and intensity of the explosions were not known but the blasts revived memories of the terror attack in November 2008 in which 166 persons were killed by 10 gunmen of Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT).Police said all the blasts took place in a crowded markets and busy areas.The first explosion took place in south Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, near famous Mumbadevi temple, this evening in which some people were injured, said Mumbai Police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli. The bustling market also has a number of jewellery shops.The second explosion was reported in a taxi in Dadar area, he said. The site of the explosion was close to dadar railway station."We are verifying the nature of explosions. At this moment I cannot say anything more than this," Tamboli said.The third blast was reported from Opera House in Charni.Teams of Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) have rushed to the spots. Maharashtra PwD minister Chhagan Bhujbal said, "Can confirm blasts in three locations. Can not say how many people injured or killed. Impossible to say anything about it right now. Trying to gather information."The blasts came on the birthday of Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed nearly 170 people.They hit the city around 1900 local time (1330 GMT).The city has been put on a state of high alert.The authorities have not yet said who they believe might be behind the explosions and no group has said it carried them out. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan shortly after the serial blasts shook Mumbai.NSG perssonnel and forensic experts were rushed to the western metropolis in a BSF plane from Delhi.Today's explosions came two days after the fifth anniversary of the Mumbai serial train blasts in which 186 persons were killed.The explosion in Zaveri Bazaar occured in an electric pole in a crowded area. Zaveri Bazar area has been constantly targeted in the blasts and 54 people were killed during the explosions in 2003.High alert has been sounded in the national capital and other parts of the country. (PTI)
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The recent opening of Delhi's T3 (new international airport terminal) is a chapter of jubilation in India's infrastructure story. Built in a record 37 months at $3 billion, this engineering feat exemplifies how India's infrastructure challenges can be overcome with technology and funding. However, there are three caveats — India requires much more than just physical infrastructure; technology and funding are not the only enablers necessary; and long-term goals are much more difficult to set and follow up on. Unfortunately, India's higher education infrastructure seems to be crippled by debilitating circumstances on all three counts.The Slip Is ShowingWith over 25,951 colleges and 504 universities, India has the largest number of higher education institutions in the world. At 13.64 million students in universities and colleges, another 3 million enrolled in distance learning programmes and over 1.4 million in degree level programmes in technical education, India also has the third-highest aggregate enrolment after the US and China. However, India's 12.4 per cent gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education as claimed in the HRD (Human Resource Develoment) ministry's Report to the People on Education 2009-10 is half the world average, one-third the average of BRIC countries, and one-sixth that of developed countries.Between 1980 and 2007, enrolments in higher education in India grew at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.39 per cent compared to 13.07 per cent in China. Making the grade at 15 per cent GER by 2011-12 requires a growth of 7.5 per cent in higher education enrolment for all states with the population in the age group 18-23 growing at 2 per cent throughout this period — a near impossibility. Considering that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh will account for 40 per cent of the increase in the age-group of 15-59-year-olds with only 10 per cent share in GDP growth, there will be an increasing migration of knowledge capital from these states. On the other hand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh will account for 45 per cent increase in GDP with less than 20 per cent addition to the working population.So, making higher education inclusive by bringing about parity in GER across both genders, various population sub-groups, religions or even between urban and rural populations is a pipe dream. For India, achieving higher education target numbers is paramount but the quality of higher education is equally critical.Treat The Disease, Not The SymptomsWhile GER is the most important metric to target, it is not a solution. Many studies have pinned the blame for this decadent state of affairs on lack of reforms, where state universities have old syllabi, decrepit infrastructure and are mostly focused on arts, commerce, science courses that do not impart employable skills. It is also true that almost half of India's higher education institutes have come about in the past 10-15 years, through private enterprise. So, it may be surmised that private institutes have also not contributed to the quality aspect of higher education. According to a survey by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), about 90 per cent colleges and 70 per cent universities are of middling or poor quality with depleted and inferior faculty, libraries, computing facilities and other support infrastructure.Missing Quality StandardsIn a changing world, quality standards are dynamic. What is world class today may become irrelevant soon. Ten-year-old course content, little or no industry focus in skilling and poor research environment are only the tip of some cold facts that threaten to sink India's knowledge voyage in high seas. Quality research is not on the agenda of any of the stakeholders — students, teachers, institutions, state and central governments, or even the private sector. India ranks a lowly 13th among nations with less than 2.6 per cent share in published research papers between 1994 and 2004 compared to 38.5 per cent for the US, 10.3 per cent for Japan, 9.5 per cent for Germany and 8.6 per cent for the UK. China, a relatively late entrant in academic research, pipped India to reach 9th position with 3.9 per cent share. Also, each paper published in India during this period was cited 3.17 times on average compared to 13.01 for Switzerland, 12.31 for the US, 11.7 for the Netherlands, and 10.54 for the UK. None of India's universities, colleges or technical institutes rank amongst the top 500 universities in the world, save two of the 15 IITs.break-page-breakChina has 30 institutes in the same list. Outcomes of the research create opportunity to develop completely new industries, and these opportunities create human capacity to develop more higher education institutes, as happened in India with the IT boom in the 1990s. R&D is the engine as well as the fuel that powers higher education. In India, the engine itself needs overhauling. Of the Rs 84,000 crore allocated in the 11th Five-Year Plan, not even Rs 30,000 crore have been spent in the first three years.‘Tomorrow-Ready' Knowledge EconomyAs time is running out for the 11th Five-Year Plan, numbers may get misreported in the misplaced enthusiasm to meet GER targets. The government must prevent misreporting and accreditation of sub-standard institutions while promoting self-governance and private participation. Importantly, inclusiveness should not become an alibi for lack of quality.Thankfully, the HRD ministry is showing some urgency in adapting the National Knowledge Commission and Yashpal Committee reports. Both the committes have recommended reforms in existing universities and have proposed coalescing of functions of professional bodies, with variations in emphasis. While National Knowledge Commission has suggested a structure with UGC and a regulatory body, Yashpal Committee prefers a single commission that subsumes all professional bodies including UGC with a distinct mandate for research apart from higher education. Both committes have highlighted the need for at least 1,500 more universities to meet a GER target of 15 per cent. Importance of upgraded curricula, periodic assessment processes, and recruitment and retention of quality faculty have been highlighted.Also, we should set up research centres at select central universities to benchmark and plan their higher education programmes against global institutes of excellence. It is equally important that we develop a centralised inventory of skills, vocations and cross-disciplines that will be necessary in the next 10-20 years. Research–academia–industry–private funding must form a strong alliance to not only build institutions of tomorrow, but also shape the higher education and research of the future. With one of the most educated leaders of the world at the helm, India today needs to make the best of this opportunity to reap its demographic dividend, lest generations to come curse us for building a nation that has world class airport terminals to travel to Harvard, Cambridge and Tsinghua universities but not a single centre of excellence for higher learning to prevent this exodus.The author is director of Lucid Solutions(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 23-08-2010)
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Consumer spending in Asia is likely to reach $32 trillion by 2030, powered by the emergence of a rising middle class in the fast growing economies of China and India, the Asian Development Bank said on Thursday.Contributing 43 per cent of worldwide consumption in the next 20 years, Asia will assume the traditional role of the US and European middle classes, the Manila-based bank said in a report released in New Delhi.It estimated Asian consumers spent about $4.3 trillion, or about a third of OECD consumption expenditure in 2008."Developing Asia's middle class is rapidly increasing its size and purchasing power, and will be an increasingly important force in global economic rebalancing," Chief Economist Jong-Wha Lee said in the ADB's 2010 report on key regional indicators.Nearly 56 per cent of the population, or about 1.9 billion people, have pulled themselves into the ranks of those earning $2 to $20 per day in 2008, the ADB said, with the number growing by around 205 million in India from 1990 to 2008, second only to China.But it cautioned that more than 75 per cent of India's middle class remain in straitened circumstances, and at risk of falling back into poverty if hit by a major economic shock such as the global financial crisis.Economic growth in China added 800 million people to the middle class between 1990 and 2008, when spending in Asia rose almost three-fold versus marginal increases in other regions, it said.The rise of the middle class in Asia could sharpen environmental and health concerns that until recently were more typical of wealthier parts of Asia and the world.(Reuters)
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The government is trying to strike a balance between farm interests and industry as it faces a series of violent protests against attempts to take over land, a debate that has consequences for investment and internal security.Why Is Land A Big Issue?For many Indians, land is the only asset or social security that they possess and is a mark of social standing. Nearly 60 percent of India's 1.2 billion citizens depend on farming for a living and each hectare of farmland supports five people.Most projects require huge amounts of land. South Korea's POSCO's proposed steel mill in Orissa will be built on 1,600 hectares. A six-lane highway between the Taj Mahal city of Agra with New Delhi will require 43,000 hectares.Compensation ranges from between $4,300 a hectare, in the case of top steelmaker ArcelorMittal's proposed plant of over 4,400 hectares in Jharkhand, to $14,600 per hectare, offered to farmers displaced by POSCO's Orissa mill.Despite the seemingly attractive prices, farmers have few other livelihood options and land taken over for industrialisation has been blamed for displacing hundreds of thousands of people.Protests against land being taken over have become more visible as the economy expands and the rich-poor gap widens.What Does The Law Say?India's century-old land acquisition law gives the state the right to take over land for public purposes with little compensation.Critics say the government interprets "public" to include private investments and this amounts to land-grabbing. They want private firms to buy the land from the owners at market rates.India is considering a new law which would guarantee market or higher rates.What Is At Stake?Analysts cite problems in acquiring land as the biggest hindrance to rapid industrialisation of Asia's third-largest economy, pointing out to several stalled highways, power utilities and factories.Prominent amongst these are multi-billion dollar investments by top steelmakers like ArcelorMittal, South Korea's POSCO and Tata Steel.Protests over mining on tribal land in Orissa have stalled plans of British-based mining group Vedanta Resources Plc to extract bauxite.Who Benefits & Who Pays?Proponents say setting up industries and infrastructure will boost economic growth to double-digit rates which are need to pull out of poverty the hundreds of millions of Indians who live on less than $1.25 a day.They say more jobs will be created, shifting people from farms to the higher-paying industrial and service sectors, and that this will deepen the domestic market for goods and services.Opponents point at the land system that has multiple layers of tenancy and where the peasant or farm labourer is often not the owner of the land and hence receives no compensation.They also question the benefits of industrialisation, saying displaced people do not get the jobs that may be created as they do not have the required skills or qualifications.How Are Other Countries Faring?China faces similar problems over land rights and property seizures, with an increase in the number of clashes between peasants and local government.Some analysts have warned the confrontation could ignite broader popular demands that challenge the Communist Party's hold over 750 million rural residents.What Are The Security Implications?India's Maoist rebels have tapped into the resentment of tribal and rural citizens who have been displaced from their land as a result of industrial projects.They have been linked to protests that forced Tata Motors to shift the site of a plant to build the world's cheapest car. The rebels have also sided with farmers opposing a $3 billion chemicals hub complex and a steel plant planned by India's No 3 steelmaker JSW Steel, among others.A government panel on Monday said forcible acquisitions could shake the faith of citizens in the rule of law and would have serious consequences for internal security.How Does It Affect Farm Output?India's food productivity is nearly stagnant and using farm land for other purposes means the country cannot raise farm output rapidly enough. This could leave it vulnerable to food shortages in times of a bad harvest, forcing it to go for costly imports.(Reuters)
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India's economy probably grew an annual 8.7 per cent in the June quarter, its strongest pace since the December quarter of 2007, the median forecast of 21 economists showed. Forecasts ranged between 7.7 and 9.4 per cent.The economy, which had expanded an annual 8.6 per cent in the March quarter, has been riding on robust manufacturing activity and the outlook for farm output has brightened following good monsoon rains.Factor To Watch* Manufacturing production rose an annual 12.2 per cent in the quarter through June, compared with a growth of 3.4 per cent in the same quarter last year.* Monsoon rains, which are vital for boosting farm production and rural incomes in the nation of more than 1.2 billion people, have been near normal in the four-month annual season that began in June.* This has helped cool wholesale prices-based inflation to just under 10 per cent in July, the slowest annual rise in last six months.* Still, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Tuesday price pressures remained a major concern and it might have to give precedence to containing inflation over other policy objectives.* The central bank had raised key interest rates in July for the fourth time since mid-March, signalling its urgency to stamp on high headline inflation.Market Impact* Bond traders are pricing in a 25 basis points increase in key rates at the next RBI policy review on Sept. 16. Traders say a stronger-than-expected GDP data will likely push up the 10-year bond yield to 8.10 percent, the highest in four months, reinforcing rate hike expectations.* The 10-year yield had closed at 8.03 percent on Thursday, up 31 basis points since the last policy review on July 27.* The 1-year overnight indexed swap rate is seen rising to 6.15-6.20 per cent if data exceeds expectations, but a further upside is seen limited by the currently comfortable cash conditions.(Reuters)
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Ahead of the high-level UN summit to assess progress in the Millennium Development Goals later this month, a recent report says children from the poorest communities in India are three times more likely to die before they reach the age of five than those from high income groups.The new global report titled 'A Fair Chance at Life' by international child rights organisation 'Save the Children' says reductions in child mortality in India and elsewhere in the world appeared to focus on children from better-off communities leaving children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds behind.Of the 26 million children born in India every year, approximately 1.83 million children die before their fifth birthday in India. Half of these deaths occur within a month of the child being born (the neonatal period), says the report.The under five mortality rate in Kerala is 14 deaths per 1000 live births. This stands at a sharp contrast to Madhya Pradesh at 92 per 1000, 91 per 1000 for Uttar Pradesh and 89 per 1000 for Orissa.These inequalities are also marked in respect of newborn mortality rates. While the rate for Kerala is 7 per thousand, the comparable figures for Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa are 48, 45 and 47.In 2008, 5.3 lakh children under 5 died in the lowest income quintile in India in comparison to 1.78 lakh among the highest wealth quintile.The rate of decline in under five mortality rate between 1997-98 to 2005-06 among the lowest income quintile is 22.69 per cent compared to 34.37 per cent among the high income quintile for the same period."The 41 per cent decline in child mortality over the last nearly two decades masks a dangerous expansion of the child mortality gap between the richest and poorest families in India," says Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children."What these aggregate figures do not reveal are the huge inequities in mortality rates across the country, within States and between them, as well as between children in urban and rural areas," points out Chandy.In the year 2000, world leaders committed themselves to eight Millennium Development Goals, including MDG 4 which calls for a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality between 1990 and 2015.India is a signatory to the original Millennium Declaration and has reaffirmed its support for the Millennium Development Goals, including MDG 4. Despite progress against the target, on the current trajectory, India will fall short of achieving it.The under-five mortality rate has fell from 116 per thousand live births in 1990 to 69 per thousand live births in 2008. The current annual percentage of reduction of under 5 mortality in India is 2.25 per cent, whereas the required annual percentage of reduction to reach the MDG goal in this regard during the remaining seven years has to be 6.28 per cent, says the report.According to the report, 90 per cent of these deaths are caused by pneumonia, measles, diarrhoea, malaria and neo-natal conditions that occur during pregnancy and during or immediately after birth.The latter conditions are particularly significant when it comes to India's newborn deaths. Severe infections, asphyxia and premature births cause over 72 per cent of newborn deaths.Maternal and child malnutrition is significant too in explaining the continuing high rates of child mortality in India. 48 per cent of India's children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, 20 per cent are acutely malnourished and 22 per cent of India's babies are born with low birth weight.These rates of child malnutrition compare with some of the poorest countries in Africa. India's rates of child wasting, for example, are three times higher than Ethiopia, says the report."As the country with the highest number of child deaths anywhere in the world, India has a particular obligation to demonstrate leadership on the issue. Every child has the right to survive and the Indian Government has an obligation to protect them," says Chandy."By demonstrating political will and the right policies, MDG4 can be achieved in India. The good schemes in place need to be matched by effective implementation. And there is enough experience in India proving that low-cost interventions can make the difference between life and death for a child," he adds.Save the Children is an independent child rights organisation that works in India and in over 120 countries around the world. In India, Save the Children works in 10 states focusing on strengthening child rights in the key areas of inclusive education, child protection, health and nutrition and emergencies.(PTI)
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Environmentalists criticised the United Nations on Tuesday after it ruled that a large Indian coal-fired power project is eligible to earn carbon credits worth $165 million at current prices.Several green organisations said the UN rules, or methodology, applied to the 4,000 MW supercritical plant owned by Reliance Power were flawed and that the project was viable without the sweeteners of tradeable carbon credits called certified emissions reductions (CERs).The power station, Andhra Pradesh's Krishnapatnam, is the second Reliance Power project to be formally registered by the United Nations under its Clean Development Mechanism.In total, five high-efficiency coal power plants have been registered under the CDM -- four in India and one in China -- meaning they are all eligible to earn CERs that they can sell.The CDM is meant to reward developers of clean-energy projects in poorer nations by giving them CERs as a way to make the projects viable."To say that this project required CDM revenues to go forward is patently absurd," said Anja Kollmuss of CDM Watch, a green group that monitors the CDM market."Not only is the project required by the Indian government to use supercritical technology, but they already secured all the necessary financing, bought the land, began construction, and ordered all of the critical components before they knew if they could receive CDM funds," she said in a Washington-datelined statement.The executive panel that governs the CDM has been under pressure to suspend the methodology under which firms can apply for U.N. offsets on the basis of cutting greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient power generation technology.Under PressureSupercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants use more efficient boilers that cut coal consumption per megawatt/hour. The Indian government has rolled out a programme that supports the building of 4,000 MW supercritical plants to try to meet booming power demand. Reliance, Tata Power and NTPC are investors.Last week, the methodology panel, which advises the CDM executive board, seemed to back the concerns by stating that the methodology, ACM0013, "may lead to significant overestimation of emission reductions," Point Carbon News, a Thomson Reuters subsidiary, reported on Monday.The panel said the methodology should be put on hold with immediate effect."This project never should have been registered. It is plainly not additional," said Steven Herz, senior attorney with the Sierra Club's International Climate Program, said in the joint statement with CDM Watch.He was referring to a central CDM rule that developers must prove that a project or technology type would not be viable without CER revenue.Reliance Power declined to comment. But a person familiar with the matter said that "the entire process as laid down by the U.N. was followed."The United Nations secretariat that oversees the CDM dismissed the concerns."The project was registered and there is no story there. The project would have gone through the regular vetting process," David Abbass, public information officer for the CDM office told Reuters.The five registered power projects involve two from Reliance Power totalling 8,000 MW, two projects totalling 2,640 MW from Adani Power and a 2,000 MW ultra-supercritical plant by Shenergy in China.According to U.N. data, the five projects are eligible to receive a total of 68.2 million CERs over a 10-year crediting period. That is worth 661 million euros ($919 million) based on current prices of CERs traded on the European Climate Exchange of 9.70 euros.Reliance's Krishnapatnam plant will receive 12.3 million CERs and the firm's other 4,000 MW plant, Sasan Power in Madhya Pradesh, will receive 22.5 million.Total carbon dioxide emissions from the five projects, based on data from project design documents, over the 10-year crediting period is 673 million tonnes. That compares with the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of Australia at less than 600 million tonnes.The European Union's emissions trading scheme is the main buyer of CERs and the EU has already banned the use of CERs in its scheme from some types of projects from 2013."As of now no other credits are banned, however, there is a risk that EU may ban the use of other kinds of credits on sustainability aspects," said Ashutosh Pandey, CEO, carbon advisory business, for project developer Emergent Ventures India.(Reuters)
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre for limiting the number of below poverty line (BPL) people in a state to 36 per cent of its population as per the Planning Commission's recommendations.Seeking the government's rationale to cap the number of BPL card holders in the states, a bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma said, "We fail to understand the rationale and justification for the cap fixed by the Planning Commission."It asked Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, who appeared for the Centre, to "respond to the court on the rationality and justification of putting a cap."The bench also expressed concern over large-scale pilferage from the Public Distribution System, pointed out by the Wadhwa Committee, which examined the issue, and said the computerisation of the entire system is urgently needed."Computerisation has to be put in place as soon as possible. Looking at the grave urgency of the matter, we want the ASG to take instruction for a high-powered committee which can take assistance of other organisations concerned to ensure that the computerisation is carried expeditiously," the bench said.During the hearing, the court also remarked that going by the current pace of computerisation, it will not be completed even in ten years."If you want to do it, then do it, otherwise we would pass orders. It cannot go on for years. We want to conclude it," the bench said.On this, the ASG assured the court that he would take up the matter with authorities concerned.The bench also expressed its concern over the figures given by the Centre and respective states over the number of people falling in BPL categories."The figures given by the Centre are in great contrast with the figures given by the states " the bench said, indicating that there are large number of people who are entitled for BPL status but are not getting the benefit.It also mentioned an affidavit filed by the Uttar Pradesh government which said as per the Centre's standard, it has fixed the maximum number of BPL ration card holders at 106.7 lakh, although the number of BPL families is much higher in the state and eligible BPL card holders are not getting the benefits.The bench was hearing a public interest litigation by Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties, complaining about massive irregularities and corruption in the country's PDS mechanism and wastage of huge quantities of grain due to poor storage conditions.The bench also flayed the government for following the 2004 criterion for indentifying BPL families. The 2004 criterion stipulated that those with daily earning of less than Rs 12 in rural area and Rs 17 in urban areas would fall in the BPL category."Do you think that in 2011, Rs 17 and Rs 12 are a realistic figure seeing the current rate of inflation. Even the government of India has increased the salaries of its employees twice in a year. How can it be realistic?" the bench said, adjourning the matter till April 4.During last hearing on March 16, the bench had asked the Centre as to why the tax payers' money should be used for subidising food grains under the public distribution system (PDS) for those who are above the poverty line."We don't understand the logic as to why a person, let us say earning an annual income of Rs 10 crore, should be (given) subsidy (by using) the tax payers' money for distribution of the grains."We can understand the necessity of subsidising those who belong to the AAY (Antodaya Anna Yojana) and BPL families should be given the benefits, but why should others be given the benefit from the limited resources?" the bench had asked.It had also asked the government to explain the steps taken by it for computerisation of the PDS delivery mechanism to ensure fool-proof implementation of the welfare measure.(PTI)
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Tokyo remains the most expensive city in Asia for expatriates, while Singapore overtook Hong Kong to become the costliest place in the region outside of Japan, according to a survey by human resources consultancy Mercer.Tokyo retained its status as the second most expensive city in the world for expatriates after Luanda in Angola, which topped the list for the second year in a row.Osaka in western Japan was the next most expensive Asian city, ranked sixth in the world, followed by Singapore at the world's number eight and Hong Kong at number nine."Most Asian cities have moved up in the ranking as availability for expatriate accommodation is limited and demand is high," senior researcher Nathalie Constantin-Metral at Mercer said in a statement.The increase in cost of living was, however, most keenly felt in Australia due to a rise in the Aussie against the US dollar, Mercer said in its 2011 Cost of Living survey.Sydney rose 10 places to rank 14th, while Melbourne jumped to 21st from last year's 33th position.London fell to 18th from 17th, while New York dropped to 32nd from 27th.(Reuters)
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India's population rose to 1.21 billion people over the last 10 years--an increase by 181 million, according to the new census released on Thursday, but significantly the growth is slower for the first time in nine decades.The population, which accounts for world's 17.5 per cent population, comprises 623.7 million males and 586.5 million females, said a provisional 2011 Census report. China is the most populous nation acounting for 19.4 per cent of the global population.The country's headcount is almost equal to the combined population of the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together, it said.The population has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011, the report said. The growth rate in 2011 is 17.64 per cent in comparison to 21.15 per cent in 2001.The 2001-2011 period is the first decade -- with exception of 1911-1921 -- which has actually added lesser population compared to the previous decade, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India C Chandramauli said in presence of Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai.Among the states and Union territories, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with 199 million people and Lakshadweep the least populated at 64,429.The combined population of UP and Maharashtra is bigger than that of the US.(PTI)
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