Microsoft Corp India, a local arm of the global technology giant, said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to speed up IT literacy and enable delivery of e-governance.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will also usher in local language computing at the grass root level.

On the IT literacy front, Microsoft is setting up a third technology academy in the state in addition to two schools that are functioning in Pune and Nagpur, said a company statement issued here.

The aim is to train over 20,000 teachers at these IT academies who in turn will train 200,000 students over a five-year period.

Microsoft will work with the technological institutes in partnership with the government to enable the faculty to develop appropriate curriculum and teaching tools.

On the e-governance front, Microsoft will fund and administrate a centre of excellence for e-governance applications.

"Our partnership with Microsoft compliments our government's unique focus and vision for creating a unique edge for the state on the IT front," said Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

"We believe that through technology, we can create a skilled resource base in our state comprising of the next generation of professionals both at the grass root level as well as in terms of high-end IT talent."

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Maharashtra Seamless raises $75 million

Maharashtra Seamless Ltd said Wednesday it has successfully raised $75 million through foreign currency convertible bonds through the accelerated book built route.

Deutsche Bank acted as the sole book-runner to the transaction, said a statement issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The bonds, which have a maturity of five years, are convertible at a conversion price of Rs.506.68 per share, which is at a premium of 30 percent over the closing price of Rs.389.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange Tuesday.

The bonds carry a zero coupon with a yield to maturity set at 6.20 percent at the end of five years if not converted into shares during this period.

The issue was oversubscribed by approximately two times within a few hours of the launch. Due to the strong response, the issue was upsized from $70 million to $75 million.

The bonds are likely to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

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AK Capital is largest arranger for debt funds

AK Capital Services Ltd said Wednesday the company has been ranked number one merchant banker in India in the domestic bond market.

Bloomberg rating for the Indian domestic bonds ranked A.K. Capital in the top slot for the period between Jan 1, 2005 and March 31, 2005, said a company statement issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company climbed six positions and increased its market share by 24.30 percent to capture 30.10 percent of the total volume. It arranged 21 deals that generated Rs.46 billion in proceeds.

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Patel Engineering bags order from NHAI

Patel Engineering Ltd said Wednesday the company has won three contracts from the state-run National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) worth Rs.3.61 billion for widening and strengthening national highways.

The company has been awarded the Rs.2.24 billion project for strengthening the NH-7 from Maduri to Kannyakumari, said a statement issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company has also been awarded a Rs.2.38-billion project to widen and strengthen existing section of NH-37 from two-lane to four-lane from Nagaon to Dharmatul.

Both these projects will be executed with a joint venture partner. The share of Patel Engineering in the joint venture has been pegged at Rs.3.61 billion.