Mumbai region Congress president Kripashankar Singh was the chief guest at the event, organised at the Kasturba Gandhi School grounds. PMC Education Board chairperson and Payal Tiwari Foundation founder Sangeeta Tiwari spoke about tablet computers and explained how they could be of help to students. MLC Dipti Chowdhary, Deputy Mayor Prasanna Jagtap, corporator Sunil Gaikwad and Lata Rajguru were present.

The tablet computer concept, a first in Pune, has been developed by Payal Tiwari Foundation in association with the Sundaram Group of Companies.

“The tablet computer, consisting of 300 hours’ learning, is the first in Marathi. We took up this venture so that we could bring Marathi-medium schools on a par with English-medium schools,” said Amrut Shah of the Sundaram Group of companies.

“The tablet will have all subjects taught in the school. There is a special application to help students revise each chapter thoroughly. They will also have questions and answers, which can help students to write better. It is extremely user-friendly,” said Dipesh Dedhia of Sundaram Group.

Ambrish Galinde of the civic education boad helped with development of the content for the tablet.

The tablet, based on the Maharashtra State Board syllabus, has already been distributed in 300 schools in the state and several coaching classes.

Ref# http://www.indianexpress.com/news/elearning-reaches-civic-schools-students-get-tablet-computers/892878/

Education is considered to be the primary criteria for the development of the country. The more number of bright students the country can produce the more is the development of the country.  The educational facilities in Maharashtra Board is considered to be one of the best and job oriented so as soon as the students head out in the industry they are placed with the best. They provide the same kind of educational facilities in the regional language Marathi as well to the SSC Marathi Medium students. The first stepping stone to a successful life is the school and this is the place where a child learns all the basics of his life. From learning to write the first letter, to writing the most important SSC Board exam, school is the only place where they can make their foundations strong. The most notable feature of the board is that it does not bias between the English Syllabus and Marathi Syllabus, all the information and the curriculum supplied by the board is exactly the same in the both language.

With the modern computer era, the term e-learning has taken its form and is all set to hit the country soon. This technology enables the students to learn the same thing in a computer or television rather than having to stare at the books for hours. It is approved by the Maharashtra Board  that covers the entire education of the students from Standard 1 to 10^th of SSC English Medium and even the SSC Marathi Medium. Maharashtra Board is one of the apex educational entities in the country known for their quality and knowledge oriented syllabus. The Board has been providing educational facilities to millions of students every year in the state.

Proper education needs proper guidance, and a teacher is the best guide for all the students to help them with a bright future. E-learning allows the students to gain all the information that the books provide but in a much more enthralling and interesting way compared to the dull books. With this technology the students can learn all the things, with a teacher by your side to assist you with the screening. It also allows the students of SSC English Medium or SSC Marathi Medium learn all the subjects without having to go through the heavy books to prepare for their exams. Books are still the best form of gaining knowledge and E-class enhances the book way of learning. But, how about you could see your favorite Humpty Dumpty falling or know about the life of Hitler in a screen instead of just staring at the photo on the book.

The Maharashtra Board of education has been trying to imbibe this new concept of the E-learning method of teaching in their further style. E-class along with the board is trying to add its technique to make learning more fun and innovative for kids and the teachers. Education is considered to be the most important thing in a child’s life and proper education is always necessary for a kid to define himself in the near future. Nowadays the kids being more engaged to gadgets and gizmos would love studies the fun way either in a TV or in computer. With E-class the parents need not worry about their kids sitting the whole day long stuck to the TV screens or the Computer. Even though this is quite a new concept in India E-class is all set to take the challenge and stand up to it.

E-class for students is the best way to learn things in an interesting way wherein they don’t have to be worried of their queries being left unsolved because they are scared to ask question in front of the entire class. The best part about E-learning is almost the entire world is connected either to a TV or computer making it rather more feasible. Number of schools and institutions are learning the importance of having a TV or a projector installed and making kids understand their favorite subject in an exciting way, because kids are attracted by audio-visual things and the E-class way is the best treat for their studies. Unlike schools they can solve their homework with much of an ease.  E-class for teachers is also an added advantage making things understand to the kids in a naïve manner.

E-class kit comes loaded with a pen drive along with an e-box which is a small multi-media player just like a set top box plays as a TV set. It can also be played or run in a computer, a server or a laptop.

E-class is readily available for students of 1 to Standard 10. SSC Board which happens to be the toughest and the first step for a kid’s educational career is where the kids get anxious and need a helping hand. Another highlight about E-class is its also available SSC Marathi medium kids and covers the entire SSC Marathi syllabus.

The boring classes are now passé make way for E-learning with E-class…

Since a teacher may find it real difficult to individually make sure that every child is clear with the lessons taught in the class, there is also a tendency of many students being confused. There are also times when a child, who has many doubts, will yet not approach the teacher out of embarrassment or shyness. This is where e-class comes into play. It becomes an assistant of the teacher, as in it is makes sure each student is cleared of all his doubts easily. It acts as a student’s best friend and is at his disposal 24/7 throughout the year.

It is the virtual platform of e-class that makes this impossibility possible. This is where e-learning in India simply goes to another level, even as a next generation platform of studying is made ready for the little ones. The beauty of e-learning for school kids is that it comes loaded in a pen drive along with an e-box which is a small multi-media player and thus readily plays on a TV set. It may as well be loaded into a personal computer, a server or for that matter even a laptop. All the subjects are covered by e-class and it is available readily for the students of standard 1 to standard 10 of Maharashtra State Board. E-learning for school kids is a medium with the outstanding potential of spreading a wave of education and literacy throughout the length and breadth of India. At the heart of it, e-class is not just another product for selling purpose. It truly aspires to be instrumental in spreading a revolution, an “e” revolution. Here “e” stands for education and enlightenment. Not only the urban kids but even rural children can greatly benefit from this platform of e-learning in india. For once, a child with good education is a child empowered with knowledge and wisdom. This is a child with the power to do anything.

Education is vital in the upbringing of a child and determines as to how much will the little one grow where it really matters, in the mind. If the power of wealth and extravagance isn’t evenly distributed among all people, then the bright rays of the sun, the radiance of the moon, the liberating exuberance of air and the ever flowing deep waters are for the taking of one and all. It is imagination that matters the most, the real spark of shimmering wisdom and the actual seed of eternal knowledge are accordingly introduced into a child’s delicate mind with sheer enthusiasm by the best of teachers. This is where e-class: e-learning for schools simply brings an added dimension of sight and sound and a learning platform as never experienced before.

The ever increasing popularity of e-class has also got the eye of Maharashtra Board. But the state education governing body is yet to come up with a full-fledged program that will see an impressive roll out of e-learning for kids on a mass scale. This should also cover the rural areas where both the education system and (unsurprisingly) the literacy rate are extremely in poor condition. The Maharashtra board should soon enough set things into play mode for e-class comes as real efficient in more than one ways. Be it history, geography, science, math or languages for that matter, e-class: e-learning for schools comes priceless in its application. This is in the sense that it acts as an ever dependent source of abundant knowledge, at the students dispense anywhere and anytime. This is even as teachers cannot be present with the pupils throughout the day.

Maharashtra board students, be it Grade-I or the all important and much hyped Grade-X (SSC) students, will find e-class: e-learning for schools come to the rescue in many a crisis situation. The salient features of this virtual classroom ensure that students are never short of company, a guiding light (in the absence of their teachers). The vast sea of knowledge always within effortless reach sees to it that examination fear is simply done away with. e-class as an innovative and advanced platform of learning runs on an e-box (a multi-media player) and a Pen Drive. e-class: E-learning for kids can be loaded on PCs, Laptops, School Servers and a TV Set among others. This simply opens up a portal which takes the juniors into a vibrant and alive world that is full of endless knowledge and wisdom for them to derive from. The Maharashtra board of education has become much reputed today with an increasing number of students passing their SSC examinations and faring brilliantly at that. But this next generation platform of education, e-class: e-learning for schools, will simply skyrocket the “Young Einsteins” into an Elite League of their own.

For sustaining growth tax reform will continue with the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) to be operationalisedfrom April, 2012 while a Constitution Amendment Bill is proposed to be introduced during the current session of Parliament as a step towards roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).  He said the introduction of DTC and GST will result in moderation of rates, simplification of laws and better compliance.  The Finance Minister re-iterated the Government’s resolve to move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy to people living below poverty line in a phased manner.  He said that the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) has improved the availability of fertilizers and the Government is actively considering extension of NBS regime to cover urea.

Finance Minister announced a number of measures to strengthen the agricultural sector particularly in the areas of pulses, vegetables and oil palm .  He announced Rs. 300 crore expenditure to promote 60,000 pulses villages in rain fed areas for increasing crop productivity and strengthening market linkages.  He also proposed to spend Rs. 300 crore to promote oil palm plantation in 60,000 hectares and Rs. 300 crore for the initiative on vegetable cluster.   Rs. 400 crore is proposed to be spent to improve  rice based cropping system in the Eastern Region.  Capital investment in fertilizer production is proposed to be included as an infrastructure sub-sector since investment in the sector is capital intensive.

The allocation for social sector has been increased by 17% to Rs. 1,60,887 crore which amounts to 36.4% of the total plan allocation.  Bharat Nirman, which includes Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana(PMGSY), accelerated irrigation benefit programme, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, Indira AwasYojana, National Rural Drinking Water Programme and Rural Telephony have together been allocated Rs. 58,000crore.  Remuneration for Anganwadi workers have been increased to Rs. 3000 per month from Rs. 1500 per month while the Anganwadi helpers will get Rs. 1500 per month.  This will be effective from 1^st April 2011 benefiting about 22 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers.

The allocation on education has been increased by 24% to Rs. 52,057 crore.  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan gets Rs. 21,000 crore which is 40% higher than the previous year’s allocation of Rs. 15,000 crore.  The Finance Minister also proposed to introduce a scholarship scheme for needy students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes studying in classes IX and X.  It would benefit about 40 lakh students.  Plan allocation for Health has also been increased by 20 per cent to Rs. 26,760 crores.  The Rashtriya Swasthaya Bima Yojana will be extended to the unorganized sector workers in hazardous mining and associated industries.

Underlining the need to strengthen Public Sector Banks (PSBs) the Finance Minister proposed to provide Rs. 6000 crore to maintain tier 1 capital to risk weighted  asset ratio.  He also proposed to infuse Rs. 500crore into Regional Rural Banks (RRB) .  A Women’s Self Help Groups Development Fund with a corpus of Rs.500  crore is proposed to be created.  He also proposed to create a micro finance equity fund of Rs. 100 crorewith Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for providing equity to smaller micro finance institutions. Rs. 3000 crore will be provided to NABARD to help handloom weaver cooperative societies to become financially viable.

Interest subvention of 1 per cent on housing loans will now be available for loans upto Rs. 15 lakhwhere the cost of house does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh.  The present limit for the loan amount is Rs. 10 lakh while the cost of the house should not exceed Rs. 20 lakh.

The total plan expenditure has been increased by 18.3 per cent to Rs. 4,41,547 crore and the non-plan expenditure increases by 10.9 per cent to Rs. 8,16,182 crore.  The gross tax receipts are estimated to grow by 24.9 per cent to Rs. 9,32,440.  Rs. 2,01,733 crore will be transferred to the Sates and UTs as plan and non plan transfers.  This also marks a rise of 23 per cent over budget estimates of last year.  The fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs. 4,12,817 crore which works out to 4.6 per cent of the GDP.

Turning to the direct taxes, the Finance Minister proposed to increase the exemption limit for general category individual tax payers by Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 1,80,000 per year.  This will provide a uniform tax relief of Rs. 2000 to every tax payer of this category.  The benefit for senior citizens will now be available at 60 years of age and the exemption limit will go up from Rs. 2,40,000 to Rs. 2,50,000.  Those who are 80 years and above have been brought under a new category called very senior citizens and the exemption limit in this category will be Rs. 5 lakhs.

The minimum alternate tax rate has been hiked from 18 per cent to 18.5 per cent of book profits. Developers of Special Economic Zones as well as units operating MAT in SEZs have been brought under MAT. Tax benefit for investment in long term infrastructural bonds will continue for one more year.  Income from foreign subsidiaries of Indian Company will now attract a lower tax of 15 per cent tax on dividends.

Turning to indirect tax, the finance Minister said that there are 370 items that enjoy the exemption from Central Excise Duty but are chargeable to VAT.  He proposed to withdraw the exemption on 130 of these items. The remaining 240 items would be brought into the tax net when GST is introduced.  A nominal 1 per cent central excise duty is being imposed on 130 items.  The basic customs duty has been reduced from 30 to 5 per cent on raw silk, from 5 to 2.5 per cent on certain textile intermediates and from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent on certain inputs for manufacture of technical fibre and yarn.  Stainless steel scrap has been fully exempted from customs. Export duty on iron ore has been increased to 20 per cent ad valorem both for lumps and fines.  The basic customs duty on pet coke and gypsum has been reduced 2.5 per cent to give relief to cement industry.

On the service tax front a few new services have been brought under tax net.  Hotel accommodation in excess of Rs. 1000 per day and service provided by air conditioned restaurants with licence to serve liquor havebeen brought under the tax net.  Service tax on air travel has been raised by Rs. 50 in case of domestic air travel and Rs. 250 on international journey by economy class. Services provided by Life Insurance Company in the area of investment and some more legal services have also been brought under tax net.

Finance Minister said the proposals on direct taxes are estimated to result in a revenue loss of Rs. 11,500 crore while those on the service tax will yield Rs. 4000 crore more.  The Finance Minister has kept the disinvestment target at Rs. 40,000 crore for the coming year.  He, however, reiterated that the Government is committed to retain at least 51 percent ownership and management control of the CPSUs.   He said that as an emerging economy India stands at the threshold at the decade which presents immense possibilities. He said we have the voice on the global stage and we must not let the recent trends and tensions hold us back from converting these possibilities into realities.

Ref: http://nvonews.com/2011/02/28/union-budget-2011-education-hiked-by-24-health-by-20/

e-class brilliantly uses computer technology and makes available invaluable educational content for State board students of 1st to 10th standard in English and regional medium. The content is loaded in a USB Drive. Along with the pen drive, a specially built e-box is also provided which may be inserted to a TV or projector and the content is ready to be viewed and grasped by the students. An additional remote control is also given along with the e-box which makes operating things easier. A totally new world is set and ready to be explored as such now. The idea is to have a real teacher in a virtual classroom, teaching students who are bound to look and listen carefully wide eyed and full of enthusiasm. This e-class is not to be mistaken with the classic Mercedes e-class cars. But then come to think of it, with the luxury that e-class virtual education gives to teachers and students along with its affordable price, it beats the luxury car’s e-class version hands down.

All the subjects and every chapter of each subject of State Board Syllabus is covered in e-class. The unique features include, apart from a virtual teacher and classroom, question-answer, mind map etc. The e-class content also easily runs on computers and laptops among other such devices. This e-class for students is as much as it is an e-class for teachers. Thus for once, the next generation teaching methods has already arrived. e-class is not meant to just do away with the traditional methods of teaching. The importance of a teacher in the classroom, teaching many students all sitting together is a tradition that is very much needed and important. The significance of a real teacher is not done away with or ignored for that matter. This e-class simply compliments actual classroom teaching. e-class acts as an assistant to the teachers and a friend to the students. The technology, while advanced, is at the same time cheap which means even students in the relatively rural or semi rural areas of India will have easy access to them.

Fancy the new idols of T20 series? The exercise book makers of India, quick to spot a business opportunity, are rushing to put them on the covers so that kids can continue to admire them even when they are not glued to the television. “Notebook designs change with the times. Since T20 is the flavour of the season, we’ll put the T20 heroes on our cover along with some information on the new game format,” says Amrut Shah, Chairman and Managing Director of Sundaram Multipap Limited, makers of the popular Sundaram brand of exercise books in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa.A few years ago, as the fag end of the summer vacations, it was routine to cover the textbooks and notebooks with brown paper and write names on them. Quality notebooks, that are colourful, have made this a more or less redundant exercise.Some schools like Arya Vidya Mandir in Mumbai, select a painting by their student to put on the school exercise books. This year, for instance, there is a design by Soumya Mahuvakar of Standard VII, AVM, Juhu with a message “Spread flowers on the way, not thorns”.According to a study by AC Nielsen, the stationery market is estimated at Rs 10 billion per annum in India and is growing at 20% every year.  Of this, the notebook market accounts for around Rs 5108 crores.  Nearly 80% of this huge market is in the unorganised sector with local players catering to the local demand. Given India’s relative prosperity and heightened quality awareness, organised players are increasing their presence as they see a bright future ahead.Says Amrut Shah, also the general secretary, Maharashtra Book Manufacturers’ Association, “With an estimated 22 crore students in India, the school paper stationery is nearly Rs 9,000 crore business. It is growing at 15 per cent per annum.”  The 11th Planning Commission has provided for Rs 55, 000 crore to be spent on education till 2012 which will encourage sale of school stationery, he says.Quality rulesOne look at the notebooks on offer in the stationery shops and you know why exercise book manufacturers are falling over each other to come up with new designs. They have it all — from pictures of fancy cars and motorcycles to wildlife and nature themes.

Shah who had Hrithik Roshan on one of the covers of Sundaram notebooks, admits that star power helps in the initial years of brand building. “In the last five years or so, buyers have become quality conscious. Whether you put Mickey Mouse or Bill Gates on the cover, it matters little to them,” he says. Quality is also the reason why, explains Shah, there is no invasion of Chinese notebooks in India. Chinese made pencils and sharpeners and other products may rule in Indian gray market but not the notebooks.

Export ManiaIndian market, though huge, is not the only lucrative market for exercise book manufacturers. These notebooks, very competitive for their price and quality, are much in demand in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.America was a major export destination for Indian notebook manufacturers till two years ago when it introduced the anti-dumping duty against India, China and Indonesia. For companies like Navneet, for whom US market accounted for 50 per cent of their total exports, it was a blow. “We made good by concentrating on the European market with value-added children’s book series like model-construction and fabrication books,” says Shailendra Gala, vice president stationery division, Navneet Publications (India) Limited , a family-owned business with an annual turnover of Rs 400 crore. Paper stationery division of notebooks account for one third of their annual turnover.  Says Nitin Sontakke, CEO of Blue Bird Limited, a Pune-based company with emphasis on school stationery, “Educational sector is the biggest growing sector worldwide. India manufactures good quality paper and exports paper-based stationery to many countries in European Union and African countries like Tanzania and Kenya.” But all is not well with the paper industry, admits Shah. Price of paper, the main component for the notebooks has increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 in the last one year and since the prices of notebooks have increased only by 7 to 8 per cent, small paper mills are turning to either making newsprint which fetched good price or to manufacturing higher quality paper for the photocopiers.These problems not withstanding, Shah is upbeat about the future of the notebook industry. “The UK consumes 200 kg per annum, China uses 40 kg, South East Asia uses 70 to 80 kg. In comparison, India consumes only 8 kg and Africa below one. There is lot of scope of development still,” he says

Ref: http://www.hindustantimes.com/The-write-scene/Article1-315905.aspx

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