Wednesday, May 4, 2011

India's population will peak at 1.7bn in 2060: UN study

India's population is projected to peak at 1.718 billion in 2060, after which it will decline. At its peak, India will be the most populous country there has ever been or probably ever will be.

According to population projections released by the United Nations on Tuesday, India's share in the world's population will peak in 2030 after which it will decline, and the growth in the world's population from then on will be fuelled by Africa.

China at its peak in 2025 will have 1.395 billion people. In fact, when China peaks, India will have already surpassed it in population.

India's population will begin to decline only in 2060, a full 35 years after China. By the turn of the century, India's population, though declining, will be almost double that of China.

The latest numbers come from the UN's 2010 revision of the World Population Prospects. The last revision was in 2008. The "medium variant" for 2010 – the population projections based on national trends, which is neither the best nor worst-case scenario – produces a world population in 2050 of 9.31 billion, that is 156 million larger than the 2008 revision.

At the turn of the century, the world will have 10.1 billion people. On October 31 this year, the world will have its seven billionth person.

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Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu's body recovered

NEW DELHI: A ground rescue team on Thursday morning transferred the bodies of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others, who died in a helicopter crash in Tawang district, to the nearest helipad at Luguthang, about 3 km from the crash site, according to television reports.

It is reported that army personnel brought the body of Dorjee Khandu to Luguthang village by the land route.

Home ministry has confirmed that the body of the chief minister has been identified. His body would be taken to Itanagar at 12.30 pm.

was taken to Tawang helipad and autopsy would be conducted at the Tawang post at 12.30 pm.

After four days of search by over 3,000 security forces and choppers, it was finally a group of tribals who on Wednesday found the wreckage of a helicopter that went missing Saturday and the mutilated bodies of Dorjee Khandu and four others.

The wreckage of the chopper that Dorjee Khandu was travelling in was located near the Sela Pass on Wednesday, five days after it went missing.

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Arunachal CM Dorjee Khandu killed in chopper crash

NEW DELHI: Government on Wednesday indicated that Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others may not have survived the crash of the helicopter in which they were travelling on Saturday.

"From whatever I can piece together the information from the information given by the villagers and assuming it to be true, I am afraid the news is grim and sad," home minister P Chidambaram told reporters here in his second update on the search operations.

Giving details, he said some villagers had reportedly reached the site of the crash of a helicopter and communicated to the control room in Itanagar that they had identified two bodies while three were charred beyond recognition. . (Read: Krishna condoles demise of Arunachal CM)

"These are interrupted communications by villagers who have reached the site. But no official of the government, army or police has been able to reach there," he said.

"It may take several hours for any of these officials to reach the spot because it is about five kilometres from Kyela," Chidambaram said.

Isro pictures identified crash site of Khandu. Six helicopters have been sent to the crash site to confirm the identity of bodies.

Chidambaram said a Cheetah helicopter, which flew over the site, has been able to locate the debris of a crashed helicopter and some bodies lying there.

"We are trying to land another Cheetah from Lubothang," the home minister said, adding a team of the government to reach the accident site which is about 5 kms from Kyela.

Union minister for development of North Eastern region B K Handique said in Itanagar that a relative and panchayat leader of Khandu's Assembly constituency has identified his body. (Read: Khandu's relative identifies his body)

He told reporters that the panchayat leader Thupten has identified the body of 56-year-old Dorjee while the other four bodies have been charred beyond recognition.

The minister, however, said that only after the divisional commissioner takes charge of the body and the formalities are completed, they could officially confirm news about Dorjee.

Handique said that the body would be sent to Khandu's home village in Tawang, "but the final rites will be observed simultaneously at Tawang and Itanagar with state honours."

If transporting the body by chopper was delayed, it would be sent by road from Tawang, around 500 km from here, he added.

Khandu's family members had rushed to Tawang immediately after the chopper went missing.

Earlier in the day, Chidambaram said the information from the search teams was "not encouraging and not good news".

He said the search parties had "sighted three bodies. This sighting has been made from a height. They have not been able to go down to the place where the aircraft is crashed. The message has been given to the nearest Army post which is sending a team."

Chidambaram had said that an Army team has been dispatched on foot to the crash site and "we will know more about the crash site and the bodies lying there once they reach there".

The place is located at a height of 4900 metres and, therefore, it will take some time and difficulty to reach there, he said.

"When they reach there, they will communicate to us what they have found there," he said, adding he was unable to state as to what type of aircraft or whose bodies they were.

"But I am afraid it is on the flight path of the chopper after it had taken off from Tawang. We are keeping our fingers crossed and let us wait for the official word to come from the team," he said.

The single engine four-seater Pawan Hans helicopter with Khandu and four others on board went missing soon after taking off from Tawang on Saturday.

Besides Khandu, others on board were pilots Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.

Inclement weather had prevented teams from carrying out aerial searches.

Honouring the wishes of the people, Khandu's body would be brought here and kept at his bungalow for the people to pay their last last respects, Handique said.

Asked about the successor to Dorjee, he said, "Everything will be taken care of."

A pall of gloom descended on the state capital with thousands thronging Khandu's official bungalow at Niti Vihar here. MLAs, officials and local leaders were among those in grief.

A group of youth enraged over the news ransacked the local Pawan Hans office. The glass panes of the director's chamber and booking counter were damaged in the attack, police sources said.

"Never before has Arunachal witnessed such massive development the way Khandu did after taking over the reins on April 9, 2007," Power Minister Jarbom Gamlin who is also state government spokesman said while recalling his last meeting with Khandu on April 24.

His views were echoed by RWD Minister Kalikho Pul. Home Minister Tako Dabi said "Let God bless the people of Arunachal, particularly family members to bear the irreparable loss.

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CWG scam: Suresh Kalmadi remanded to judicial custody till May 18

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has sent sacked Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and two others to judicial custody till May 18.

Suresh Kalmadi was produced in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court at Patiala House today.

Kalmadi's eight-day CBI remand comes to an end today.

Kalmadi was arrested by the CBI on April 25 for fraud and conspiring with other officers of the Organising Committee for overpaying a Swiss firm 95 crores for timing and scorekeeping equipment that was used at different venues during the Commonwealth Games.

The arrest order was carried out after the CBI had questioned Kalmadi extensively on the two incidents, particularly on the documents relating to the two deals.

The CBI had earlier asked Kalmadi to appear before it on Monday to clarify some new issues, which surfaced during the visit of the agency's officials to London in connection with Queen's Baton Relay scam.

Kalmadi had earlier expressed his inability to appear before the CBI citing his foreign visit, saying he would return home only after April 19. But even after returning from his visit abroad, he did not turn up before the sleuths, saying he was still not in Delhi, sources said.

Kalmadi has been accused of sanctioning payments to AM Films and AM Car at rates that were hugely inflated.
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