Microsoft to invest in Gujarat’s education sector

October 9th, 2009 KOLKATA - Pronab Sen, chief statistician and secretary in the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, Friday stressed the need to review the present population policy keeping in view the recent fall in population growth. "Population growth has come down to 1.63 percent from more than 2 percent.

September 24th, 2009 SYDNEY - Indian and Chinese students are fuelling Australia's education sector growth, latest statistics show. Indian student enrolments in the country reached 121,000 by this June.

September 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Public Private Partnership (PPP) model is being looked at for some of the Innovation Universities that are to be set up by the Government (the 11th Five Year Plan proposes the establishment of 14 such universities aimed at world class standards). The Government is already in the process of involving a PPP model in school education, said Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal while meeting with Minister for Trade, Investment and Business of the United Kingdom, Lord Mervyn Davies.

August 29th, 2009 Koraput (Orissa) - Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday said the Government was planning to set up over 2,500 model and 200 central schools on public-private- partnership (PPP) basis in the country in next two years Inaugurating the much-awaited central university in this tribal-dominated town, which often witnesses Maoist violence, Sibal informed that the proposed model schools would be set up in the backward areas to provide primary education to all as "higher education has no meaning unless primary education was strengthened." "The schools would be set up in PPP as part of our efforts to strengthen the human resource base," Sibal said during the function. Sibal also asked corporate houses to invest in a big way in the education sector.

August 13th, 2009 Microsoft ordered to pay $290M in patent rulingSEATTLE — A federal judge in Texas has ordered Microsoft Corp. to stop selling some versions of its Word software in the U.S.

July 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Renewable energy player Astonfield will invest around $2 billion in India over the next five years to generate about 1,000 MW of power, most of it from solar sources, a top official said Friday. "We are going to make an announcement in the next 30-60 days.

July 24th, 2009 EU: Microsoft trying to settle browser caseBRUSSELS — Microsoft Corp. will offer computer users a choice of Web browsers to ward off new European Union antitrust fines, EU regulators said Friday.

July 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Union Cabinet today approved providing free and compulsory education to children aged 6-14 by giving its nod to the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2005. Earlier announcing the government's agenda for the education sector in the next 100 days, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had said that enactment of the Bill - also known as the Right to Education Bill - will be followed by the notification of the 86th Constitutional Amendment in the official gazette.

June 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - To boost its presence in the Indian education sector, Pearson, a Britain-headquartered education and information company, will invest $30 million in Indian education resource provider Educomp Solutions and Bangalore-based online tutorial firm TutorVista, the company announced Wednesday. Pearson will acquire 50 percent stake in Educomp Solutions for $17.5 million as part of their agreement signed Wednesday.

June 12th, 2009 EU: browser-free Windows gives no real choiceBRUSSELS — European Union regulators on Friday said Microsoft Corp. was offering less choice, not more, by vowing to sell the next version of Windows without the Internet Explorer browser in Europe to soothe EU antitrust concerns.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has said that the Central Government is keen to pass the Right to Education bill in the ensuing budget session of the parliament. Speaking at an Education Fair hosted by the country's apex forum of corporate sector, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) here on Sunday, Sibal expressed concern on the number of Indian student dropping out from schools.

April 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Calling the Indian examination system faulty, education experts at a seminar Tuesday said the system of examination here fails to create questioning minds. Amit Kapoor, chairman of the Institute of Competitiveness who was one of the panellists, said that students in schools and colleges here choose to study at the end of the year with just examinations in mind - thus losing the whole purpose of learning.

January 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An influential senator has asked US companies to make efforts to fire foreign workers first while making lay-offs during the current economic downturn - a move that could affect thousands of Indian professionals. In a letter to Microsoft, which employs thousands of people through the H-1B visa programme, a majority of them Indians, senator Chuck Grassley urged the IT giant to make efforts to retain qualified American workers during its recently announced lay-offs.

January 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An influential senator has asked US companies to make efforts to fire foreign workers first while making lay-offs during the current economic downturn - a move that could affect thousands of Indian professionals. In a letter to Microsoft, which employs thousands of people through the H-1B visa programme, a majority of them Indians, senator Chuck Grassley urged the IT giant to make efforts to retain qualified American workers during its recently announced lay-offs.

January 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Kerala Governor R.S. Gavai Monday took the salute at an impressive Republic Day parade here Monday and stressed on improving the quality of higher education in his speech.