Rohit Sharma clears fitness test at NCA, to leave for Australia on Dec 14
New Delhi, Dec 11: Senior India batsman Rohit Sharma on Friday cleared an eagerly-watched fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and will leave for Australia on December 14, three days before the start of the marquee Test series against the world's number one team.
Rohit had sustained a hamstring injury during the IPL, which led to him missing the white-ball leg of the ongoing tour. He is also out of reckoning for the first two Tests but can now be there for the last two games.
"Rohit has cleared the fitness Test and will soon be flying out to Australia," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Rohit's fitness test took place under the supervision of NCA director Rahul Dravid, who is entrusted with the responsibility of giving him his fitness certificate.
As per the Australian government's rules, the star batsman will have to undergo a mandatory 14 days of hard quarantine before being able to train for the last two Tests in Sydney (Jan 7 to 11) and Brisbane (Jan 15 to 19).
He is flying straight to Sydney and will get a week's training there.
There had been confusion around Rohit's status over the past few weeks. Captain Virat Kohli spoke about a lack of clarity on the issue that has been full of intrigue ever since he injured his left hamstring during a league match while playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
The injury, which forced him out of four IPL games, prompted the national selectors to not consider him for the Australian tour.
Omitted from the squad for the much-anticipated tour, he soon returned to lead his franchise in the remainder of the lucrative league, adding to the curiosity.
On November 9, the BCCI provided an update on his status, saying the selectors had kept Rohit out of only the limited-overs leg for him to "regain full fitness" for the Test series.
But the white-ball vice-captain came to Mumbai instead of travelling straight to Australia with his national teammates after leading Indians to IPL title triumph in the UAE.
The BCCI then issued another press release on November 26, a day after Kohli claimed he did not know why Rohit had not done his rehab in Australia, stating that the reason behind the opener coming back to India was his father's illness.
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Microsoft announces $17.5 billion investment to support India’s AI-focused digital growth
New Delhi: In one of its biggest global commitments to date, Microsoft has announced a $17.5 billion investment to support India’s push toward an AI-driven digital economy. The pledge, the company’s largest in Asia, was made soon after CEO Satya Nadella met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Nadella wrote on X that the investment would help build “the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI-first future,” thanking the Prime Minister for what he described as an inspiring discussion on India’s expanding AI opportunities.
PM Modi called the interaction “productive” and said India’s young population would play a central role in using artificial intelligence for innovation and broader global benefit. The meeting came amid a series of high-level engagements between the government and global technology leaders, along with the recent visits by executives from Intel and Cognizant.
Focusing on expanding cloud and AI infrastructure, strengthening digital skills, and supporting sovereign technology capabilities in India, Microsoft said the $17.5 billion commitment would be spread over four years from 2026 to 2029. The company described the announcement as part of its long-term vision to help the country advance as a “frontier AI nation.”
The pledge follows an earlier $3 billion announcement made in January 2025, bringing Microsoft’s total planned investment in India to more than $20 billion by the end of the decade.
Alongside infrastructure growth, Microsoft plans to double its training programmes, aiming to equip 20 million people with digital and AI-related skills by 2030. The company said these efforts would support the next phase of India’s digital transformation, moving from expanding connectivity to building technological capability.
The investment is also expected to support the integration of AI tools into national platforms such as e-Shram and the National Career Service, while potentially aiding more than 310 million informal sector workers through improved access to employment and digital services.
With data protection and sovereignty becoming central to technology policy, Microsoft will introduce Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud systems designed for Indian institutions. The company further said these platforms would help governments and businesses create secure and compliant environments for AI applications.
Welcoming the announcement, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that this will help in strengthening innovation grounded in trust and sovereignty. He further said Microsoft’s expanded commitment reflects the country’s growing role as a dependable global technology partner.
India has been one of Microsoft’s most significant global bases since the company opened its first office in Hyderabad in 1990. Today, the country hosts Microsoft’s largest development centre outside its Redmond headquarters, contributing to products such as Azure, Office and Windows. Its new hyperscale data centre is expected to be operational by mid-2026, increasing its cloud presence across several major cities.
