Voting began in Gujarat state elections on Thursday in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister Narendra Modi seeks to gain a third consecutive term. More importantly, perhaps, the polls promise to deliver a referendum of sorts on Modi's chances to become the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in national elections slated for 2014.

A whopping 8.2 percent uptick in industrial production in October may seem like a sign India's economy is poised for a turnaround, but the devil is in the details, says the Wall Street Journal.

As GlobalPost reported, India's industrial output rose 8.2 percent in October, beating expectations of just 4.5 percent forecast by a Reuters poll of analysts. 

But according to the WSJ, the real reason for the boost has to do with how the Diwali holiday fell on the calendar in 2011 and 2012.

"India’s festival period started in November while it took place in October last year," the paper notes. "Since production for the festival period tends to ramp up a month ahead of the festivities, festival-related production took place in September 2011 and in October this year. So the index in October 2011 was 158.3, down by nearly 4% from the month before."

But that's not the only reason for skepticism about a pending comeback.

According to the Journal, "this one month masks the anaemic growth in previous months. In fact, in five of the seven months between March and September, the index contracted – a clear indication of manufacturers’ reacting to falling demand by curtailing production and using up inventory. This is reflected in gross domestic product data."

India will begin door-to-door distribution of condoms and birth control pills to villagers nationwide this year, following the success of a limited launch in select districts.

TheTimes of India reports:

The programme was initially launched in 233 districts of 17 states and became a roaring success in a year, helping women get access to emergency contraceptives and oral pills right at their doorstep.

Under the programme, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) were supplied contraceptives for free.

ASHAs then went from door to door selling them for Re 1 for a pack of three condoms, Re 1 for a cycle of oral contraceptive pills and Rs 2 for one tablet of an emergency contraceptive - the earning being their commission. India has 870,000 ASHAs.

 "There is a need for contraceptives yet it is difficult for couples to get them, thanks to social and financial barriers," the paper quoted National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) director Anuradha Gupta as saying.

"We conducted three independent reviews of the pilot project in 233 districts and found it to be successful, specially for women. Our intention is to make contraceptives available at the doorstep of the most backward villager. Contraceptives lie in health centres but sometimes they are so far that women have to walk miles to get there. This affects uptake."

Sounds like a good program, but I wonder how many of these condoms get diverted to markets before an ASHA can ever lay eyes on them.

Global incidents of terrorism, which spiked after September 11, 2001, have waned considerably since peaking in 2007, according to the new Global Terrorism Index. But it may come as a surprise that the worst affected country after Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan is peace-loving India.