New Delhi, Nov. 18 : Government-sponsored research and development for the private sector is essential for providing a push to technological excellence in India''s manufacturing sector, said Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industrial Policy and Promotion.

New Delhi, Nov. 18 : Canada will be featured as the partner country for a Higher Education Summit organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in New Delhi November 25-26, 2008.

More than 40 Canadian institutions will participate in the two-day Summit with the theme: Higher Education at the Crossroads: Imperatives for Policy and Practice.

Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and the Canadian High Commission in Delhi have partnered with FICCI for the event in which more than 500 delegates from around the world are expected to participate.

New Delhi, November 18 : Justin Timberlake is reportedly ready to nestle himself with girlfriend Jessica Biel after shelling out 5.5 million dollars for a posh New York apartment.

The six times Grammy Award-winner has allegedly purchased his love pad in the Big Apple’s exclusive TriBeCa district, reports the China Daily.

The 27-year-old is said to be eager on moving into the plush flat that boasts of having complete high ceilings, wall-to-ceiling windows and an open plan bedroom.

New Delhi  - Indian Finance Minister P Chidamabaram on Tuesday asked industry to cut prices and maintain production levels and said he was confident that the economy would bounce back in a year, news reports said.

"We will take steps to stimulate the domestic economy to compensate for the downside caused by the downturn in the world economy," Chidambaram said at the Davos-based World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit in New Delhi.

New Delhi, Nov 18 : Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath has said that there is a need to step up cooperation to meet the India-Belarus bilateral trade target of 500 million dollars by 2010.

During the bilateral meeting with A. Rusetskey Minister of Industry, Belarus, here last evening, Nath stated that although there has been a growth in India Belarus bilateral trade, it is far below the potential.

New Delhi, Nov 18 : Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today said that India will take steps to stimulate the economy to offset the impact of the global economic slowdown.

Addressing at the World Economic Forum''s India Summit here, the Minister said, "India has already cut interest rates and taken a series of measures to boost liquidity in its banking system after the credit crisis spilled into its markets in October."