• Head of macroeconomic in Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) John Hawksworth said that with a 7.6% growth in the next 50 years, India will the fastest growing economy in the world and overtake China. With the fastest growth rate in working-age population among major economies, India will lead the E-7 pack consisting of India, China, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, and Turkey to overtake the G-7 group of rich nations. The report said that India and China would be 43% larger than the US by 2050 in purchasing power parity terms.

Democracy, Politics and Judiciary

• Many groups are trashing a report by retired Supreme Court Judge Banerjee concluding that it accidental fire that caused the death of scores of Hindu volunteers at Godhra in 2002. The Parliament had already appointed a Commission headed by Judge Nanavati to probe the incident and Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had appointed this other commission without due process. The conc lusion of Banerjee Commission is in sharp variance to the report of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) which talked about a "mob attacking and setting fire" to a coach carrying the victims. Most opposition parties feel that Yadav is politicking and this hasty conclusion trivializes the incident that saw anti-Muslim riots leaving several hundreds dead.

• The Supreme Court made strong statements today against rape but surprisingly commuted a life sentence handed by lower courts to a rapist of a 8 year old to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. A two-judge panel said, "rape is not only a crime against a person of a woman, it is a crime against the entire society. It destroys the entire psychology of a woman and pushes her into deep emotional crisis. When the victim is a helpless child or a minor, it leaves behind a traumatic experience." The reason for lowering the sentence is not known. The SC also said that the name of the victim must not be mentioned.

• US President George Bush raised the issue of cross-border terrorism with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan maintains that even with 80000 troops were present at the border it is unable to stop all infiltration into India just as the US is incapable of stopping terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush had also told a press conference with Musharraf that a "lot of work" needs to be done by Pakistan to defeat the al Qaeda. The polite reference is increased American displeasure on Musharraf's Government not doing enough to track down, engage, and eliminate al Qaeda and Taliban militants. Indian analysts say that while Pakistan makes perfunctory overtures to demonstrate good faith to the US, it does nothing to reduce terrorism on the eastern border. The Indian Government accuses Pakistan of actively funding, training, and materially sponsoring terrorism on India; a charge that Pakistan denies.  Pakistan claims to have deployed 80000 along the Western border to fight remnant Taliban and al Qaeda forces. A recent expedition saw over 100 terrorists and 4 Pakistani soldiers killed in Waziristan; reports said that the Taliban took control of a telephone exchange in Miranshah and the Pakistan action was reprisal in nature. Pakistan used helicopter gun-ships and killed several foreign terrorists.

• The Indian Coast Guard has a thankless job of manning a 5422-kilometer coastline that covers 12 states and union territories including 1197 islands with 6200 personnel. The role of the coast guard is expected to increase many fold with the creation of the Sethusamudram canal and an exclusive economic zone that is expected to grow to 3 million square kilometers. The Coast Guard is responsible for grey water security including fighting smuggling, piracy, transport of banned substance including narcotics and weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. It has projected a new force level of 15,000 personnel to operate as many as 238 ships including 173 patrol craft, 113 aircraft, 18 'Nishant' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and a couple of over-the-horizon radars by 2017. Specifically, it plans to get 60 helicopters, 35 Dorniers for coastal surveillance, 11 medium range reconnaissance aircraft, over 40 interceptor boats, and 6 deep-sea patrol vessels.

• US President George Bush traveled to Pakistan from India and delivered harsh messages to the military junta. Analysts say that 3 'As' rule Pakistan-- Allah, America, and the Army and the US lived up to this belief by asking Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections within a year; a demand to which he quickly acquiesced. Bush rejected Pakistan's demand for nuclear parity with India saying, "India and Pakistan are two different countries with different needs and different histories." The last comment was an obvious reference to the disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan who sold nuclear weapons design, materials, and accessories to so-called "rogue nations." Many westerns analysts believe that the Khan operated with complete knowledge and approval of the Government; this is a charge Pakistan vehemently denies but also refuses to allow international interrogation of Khan who is now under house arrest. Bush also strongly refused to mediate on Kashmir saying this is an issue that needs peaceful settlement through bilateral negotiations. The only two things that were positive is the US acknowledging Pakistan's energy needs and not opposing the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and the promise of a US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. The whole tenor of the Pakistan visit was in sharp contrast with India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received Bush and both exchange lengthy and friendly words on the tarmac, which now turns out to be active affirmation to get the nuclear deal done. In contrast, neither the Pakistan President or Prime Minister received Bush and instead stuck to protocol; speculation on this range from security concerns to a "message" from Pakistan that it is not happy with the attention India is getting. Only petulant allies of the Government and some disgruntled groups protested Bush's visit and boycotted the State dinner in India. In contrast, Musharraf, security incidents and threats kept most people home and the intelligentsia away from the State dinner deserted Pakistan as a strike protesting the Danish cartoons, political arrest. US newspapers have severely criticized Musharraf and had demanded that Bush not trust him.