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New Delhi, July 11 : Stressing on the need for population stablisation, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Thursday the focus of the government was on creating awareness about the need for small families.

"As per 2011 census, India's total population was 1.21 billion. As per population projection, India's population would be 1.40 billion by 2026," Azad said in his address at the 'National Dialogue for Population Stabilisation for Better Tomorrow' organised here on World Population Day.

Madrid, July 11 : Real Madrid confirmed that defender Nacho Fernandez has agreed to a new four-year contract with the club.

The move confirms the future of the 23-year-old former Real Madrid B-team captain as a fixture in the first team squad for the forthcoming season, reports Xinhua.

It is a reward for an adaptable player who is able to produce solid performances across the back line but who is probably most comfortable playing on the left side of central defence.

Mumbai, July 11 : Actress Gracy Singh, who featured in hit Bollywood films "Lagaan" and "Munnabhai M. B. B. S.", says she plans to soon wear the director's hat and that her film will be a social drama.

"I am interested in directing films and I will direct a film soon. Director is the captain of the ship and it's a very creative job," Gracy told IANS.

"My film will be a social drama based in the present times. Let's see how I go ahead with the plan," added the actress who became a known name after featuring in the hit TV show "Amanat".

New Delhi, July 11 : The government will sell 5 percent stake in the state-run India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) that would fetch nearly Rs. 24 crore to the exchequer.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday approved the proposal.

The government currently controls 92.11 percent equity stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) listed ITDC. The Stake sale will bring down the government's shareholding in the company to 87.11 percent.

Bhubaneswar, July 11 : Infrastructure builder GMR Group Thursday said the second 350 MW unit of its coal-based power plant in Odisha has been synchronised with the grid.

The first unit of 350 MW of GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited (GKEL) at Kamalanga in Dhenkanal district, about 100 km from here, was declared commercially operational on April 30.

With this, the combined generation capacity of the GMR Group has reached 1,836 MW, the company said in a statement.

As part of its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday issued show-cause notices for assumed foreign exchange violations to telecom firms.

Issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the show-cause notices accused telecom firms of foreign exchange violations worth Rs 3,805 crore.