Indian-American student Arvind Mahankali wins National Spelling Bee

Oxon Hill: Indian-American student Arvind Mahankali has conquered his nemesis, the German language, to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The 13-year-old from Bayside Hills, New York, correctly spelled knaidel, a small mass of leavened dough, to win the 86th version of the competition. The bee tested brain power, composure and, for the first time, knowledge of vocabulary.

Arvind will take home 30,000 dollars (about Rs. 17 lakh) in cash and prizes along with a huge, cup-shaped trophy.

He finished third in 2011 and 2012, eliminated both times on German-derived words. This year, he got two German words in the finals and nailed them both, including the winning word.

The eleven finalists advanced from a field of 281 contenders based on a combination of a performance onstage and their performance on a computerized spelling and vocabulary test.

Runnerup was another Indian-American student 13-year-old Pranav Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, who stumbled and was eliminated on the word "cyanophycean," a blue-green alga.

‘Power crisis to ease in 2014’

Hyderabad: Given that the state’s small and medium industries (SMEs) are bleeding due to the ongoing power crisis, there is hope for revival of some of them as the power situation is likely to improve by next year, Devendra Surana, president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) told this correspondent, on the sidelines of Engineering Expo here on Friday.

“Manufacturing output has dropped 10 per cent in the state and engineering exports have been hit. However, with the power crisis likely to improve next year, there is hope for revival of some SMEs,” he said.The drop in the industrial growth has dented AP’s economy.

The SMEs have suffered a production loss of 40 per cent (i.e. Rs 15,000 crore) during the fiscal 2012-13. The power crisis has also led to the closure of two lakh small and medium industrial units. Further, about 6,000 SMEs in the state have been declared as non-performing assets. On the demand for manufacturing, the Fapcci president said that “because the services sector is doing well, there is a huge demand for manufacturing in the state of Andhra Pradesh.”

Explaining of how the Expo will help small and medium enterprises in the state, Surana said it is an opportunity for small and medium enterprises (in AP) to improve efficiency and production and reduce costs. Meanwhile, Ganesh Parthasarathy, CEO, Tussor Machine Tools India Pvt Ltd said, the company’s business from Hyderabad has been hit due to acute power shortage. The Engineering Expo, has over 150 SMEs from across India showcasing their products, expects to see 15,000 business visitors in the four-day event that will go on till June 3.

Girl can use stepfather name in passport: HC

Chennai: Coming to the rescue of a girl student whose plea to use her st­e­pfather’s na­­me in her passport was turned down, the Ma­dras high court has directed the authorities to receive the application and issue the passport by using her stepfather’s na­me, to enable her ad­­mi­ssion to an As­tro Ph­­­­ysics course in the Na­t­i­­­onal Univ­ersity of Sin­g­apore.

After obtaining divo­rce, her mother got re-ma­­rried. At the time of school admission, the ste­pfather’s name was given in the records. She completed her plus-two in a city school, which had an arrangement with the National University of Singapore to select meritorious candidates for placement in the university. She was provisionally selected for admission to the Astro Physics course.

The university would give admission slip only on production of the passport number. But her mother could not register the passport application online as her birth certificate reflected the name of her biological father and school records showed the name of her stepfather. Hence, her mother approached the passport officials, who informed her that th­ere was a need for a co­urt order to use the name of her stepfather in the passport.

Considering the fact that the petitioner’s educational prospects should not be affected, Justice M. Venugopal directed the RPO to receive the application and issue the passport by using the name of the petitioner’s stepfather.

Himachal literacy rate up 6.3 percent in decade: Census

Shimla: The literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh, with a population of over 68 lakh, has registered an increase of 6.3 percent over a decade, says a Census report.

The literacy rate has increased to 82.8 in 2011 from 76.5 in 2001, with male literacy rate increasing by 4.2 percent and female by 8.5 percent, said the final Census report for 2011 released here recently.

Census Joint Director RK Ram told a news agency that male literacy rate was up from 85.3 to 89.5 percent, whereas female literacy rate jumped from 67.4 to 75.9 percent.

On the other hand, the sex ratio in the state has increased from 968 to 972 in one decade, for a population of 68,64,602.

But the Census reveals a declining trend in the sex ratio in the rural areas compared to urban.

While the sex ratio in urban areas increased from 795 to 853, it came down marginally from 989 to 986 in the rural areas.

"Six of the 12 districts saw decline in the sex ratio, with Kinnaur registering the maximum decrease from 857 in 2001 to 819 in 2011," said Ram.

However, the child sex ratio has improved significantly in eight districts, including Una (837 to 875) and Kangra, the state's biggest district (836 to 876).

The state has a population of 68,64,602 with a decadal growth of 12.9 per cent (2001-11) as against 17.5 percent in 1991-2001.

The growth rate of females (13.1 percent) is higher than males (12.8 percent) in the state, said the report.

The density of population increased to 123 people per sq km in 2011 from just 62 persons per sq km in 1971.

It said more than 90 percent people live in rural areas -- 17,882 villages -- of the total 20,690 revenue villages.

IANS 

Tamil Nadu with 72 mn records 80% literacy

Chennai: Tamil Nadu recorded a population of 72,147,030, growing by 97.4 lakh persons in the last decade, of which 80.1 percent are literates, according to the 2011 census.

The total population (as on March 1, 2011) included 36,137,975 males and 36,009,055 females, while the decadal growth rate was 15.6 percent, M V R Krishna Rao, Joint Director, Census Operations, said.

The population grew by 97.4 lakh persons, including 47.4 lakh males and over 50 lakh females, between 2001 and 2011 census.

"The effective literacy rate in Tamil Nadu works out to 80.1 percent with male literacy rate of 86.8 percent and female literacy of 73.4 percent," he said.

There were 51,837,507 literates, including 23,797,016 female literates. The state had recorded 73.5 percent literacy in the 2001 census.

In the 2011 census, Kanyakumari, Chennai and Tuticorin were the top literate districts in the state recording 91.7 percent, 90.2 percent and 86.2 percent respectively.

Tamil Nadu's sex ratio increased from 987 (females per 1,000 males) in 2001 to 996 in 2011, Rao said.

Nilgris topped the sex ratio chart with 1,042, followed by Thanjavur (1,035) and Nagapattinam (1,025), while Dharmapuri (946), Salem (954) and Krishnagiri (958) were at the bottom.

Of the total population, there were 7,423,832 children between (0-6 years) in the state, with 3,820,276 boys and 3,603,556 girls, marking a slight increase in the child sex ratio from 942 to 943 during 2001-2011.

Chennai tops the population density chart with 26,553 persons per sq km, while Nilgiris with 287 persons per sq km is at the bottom. The state's population density works out to 555 persons per sq km, showing an increase of 75 points since 2001.

The Scheduled Caste population stood at 14,438,445 showing an increase of 206 million and marked a decadal growth of 21.8 percent. The Scheduled Tribe population was 7.9 lakh, with 6.6 lakh of them in the rural areas.

The ST population increased by 104 lakh, constituting a decadal growth of 22 percent, as per the census.

PTI 

German Ambassador meets Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner on Friday called on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here and discussed various matters of mutual interest.

The rich tourist potential of Jammu and Kashmir particularly the scenic splendour of Valley was also discussed in the meeting, an official spokesman said.

He said the measures put in place by the state government and Centre for peace and development in the state were also talked about in the meeting.

"The German envoy showed keen interest in the new initiatives taken by Omar led government for good governance, transparency and public empowerment in the state," the spokesman added.

PTI

Microsoft brings back the 'start' button with Windows 8.1 update

Reuters

Seattle: Microsoft is bringing back the Windows "start" button, offering a stripped-down version among a slew of improvements aimed at winning over tablet users and placating PC customers alienated by Windows 8.

The world's largest software company is looking to re-energize sales of its latest Windows version, which has not made the splash with computer users it was hoping for. Executives say the plan is now to update Windows periodically, rather than waiting three years or so between big releases.

Although Microsoft has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses since October, broadly in line with Windows 7 three years ago, the company must tackle a dwindling PC user base and its inability to make a mark in the exploding tablet market.

Shipments of traditional PCs - the most reliable gauge of Windows' popularity - are expected to fall almost 8 percent this year, while Microsoft's Surface has taken less than 2 percent of the tablet market.

Windows 8 was designed to be used both on touch-screen tablets and traditional PCs. But while touch-screen users tend to like the new "tile"-based interface, many mouse and keyboard users complained that the new design was confusing.

Confirming speculation, Microsoft said the Windows 8.1 update will have a button in the bottom left corner of the screen that acts like the "start" button in previous versions of Windows. Although it will not be labelled "start", it features the Windows logo and takes the user straight to a grid of applications.

"The work you are seeing us do here is continuing to advance the modern (interface), while really taking into account some of the things we've learned from people who still want to use the desktop, to make the transition easier," Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of the Windows unit, said in an advance briefing on the Windows 8.1 update last week.

Microsoft is only making features of the new software public on Thursday.

Free update

Windows 8.1, previously known by the code name "Blue", will be available for free to all Windows 8 users some time later this year. Microsoft will make a test version available at its annual developer conference on June 26.

Windows 8.1 also includes a vastly improved "search" function, which allows a user to search for documents, apps, or items on the Internet from a single search bar, like a souped-up version of Apple's Spotlight feature.

It also allows users to see all their applications immediately in a grid by swiping down or pressing a button on-screen, which should make it easy for unfamiliar users to get to the app they want quickly.

Users can also customize the start screen much more easily, changing sizes of app icon "tiles" or controlling which apps appear. For the first time, it will be possible to open two windows simultaneously in the new-look interface.

Windows 8.1 includes Microsoft's latest browser, Internet Explorer 11, and lets the user restore the address bar and tabs to the screen view. That feature was missing in the initial version of Windows 8, which was designed to make the most of limited screen space on a tablet but tended to disorient traditional mouse and keyboard users.

Users will also no longer have to switch to the old desktop view to make changes in their default settings.

But they will still have to switch back to a traditional desktop set-up to use some programs such as Word or Excel, which have not been redesigned to function in the new Windows 8 style.