Grocery chain chops 50 IT workers at Mass. HQ

Massachusetts-based grocery store chain Shaw’s is gradually laying off about 50 technology workers from its West Bridgewater corporate headquarters and shifting their work to India.

Windham Neighborhood Variety proprietor won’t renew store’s lease

Windham, N.H., a small, affluent suburb near the Massachusetts border, is known for its rural environment, good schools and a recent proliferation of “McMansions” full of Boston-commuting families. But for Jignesh Patel, the community where he runs a convenience store has become a magnet for something far less desirable – armed robberies.

Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Ramesh Raskar is developing a startlingly realistic new imaging system at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

Is starting a new business in the middle of what may prove to be the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression a good idea? Surprisingly, experts at a recent conference in Cambridge said the timing may be perfect.

India office will handle direct sales, support in Kerala and Karnataka

The MathWorks Inc., a Natick-based software developer for technical, computing and model-based design, has opened its first direct office in the Indian tech hub of Bangalore, reflecting the growing importance of the South Asian nation to the firm’s strategic growth plans.

The recent terrorist assault on the sprawling, western Indian coastal city of Mumbai left the country’s population shaken and doubtful that the federal government can prevent another attack and resuscitate an economy that has slowed considerably and is now growing at its slowest pace since 2004.

When Apple Inc.’s long-awaited and much-ballyhooed iPhone went on sale in the United States in June 2007, company officials hoped for a spectacle. That’s exactly what they got, as throngs of consumers flocked to Apple’s retail stores across the country – some of them waiting in line for more than a day – to purchase the sleek-looking smart phone for the introductory price of $600.

Approximately 175 people watched a screening of local Cambridge resident Sarav Chithambaram’s documentary film, “It’s My Life: A South Asian Queer Story in America,” on Dec. 4, at the MIT Kresge Little Theater in Cambridge, Mass.

Brandeis University has launched an extensive initiative designed to strengthen the school’s ties to India. Dubbed the “Brandeis India Initiative,” the effort, coordinated by the school’s Office of Global Affairs, includes academic programs and seminars, guest speakers, study-abroad programs, academic delegations and cultural events highlighting India and Indian culture.

It’s not your typical business trip.

The University of Connecticut’s CIBER program, which stands for Center for International Business Education and Research, is planning its seventh trek to the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon, India, a suburb of Delhi, in conjunction with five other state universities.

The government of India made a gift of $4.5 million to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., to establish a fellowship fund on Dec. 10. The fellowships will go to deserving students from India, allowing them to pursue studies at the university’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

On several fronts in the late 1980s, desperate situations seemed to greet Indians living outside of their native country.

In New Jersey, Indians found themselves the victims of intensified racial gang violence. In Fiji, an elected Indian government was overthrown. And in nations like Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, human rights abuses targeting Indians ratcheted up.

Imagine a job where you work independently with international corporations brokering deals with one of the fastest-developing nations on the planet. For attorney Rahoul Roy, it’s just another day in the office.

India is no stranger to terrorism. Attacks like the Indian Parliament shootings of 2001, the Diwali eve bombings of 2005 and the commuter train attack of 2006 are just a few recent examples – stark reminders that while the recent terrorism attacks in Mumbai have garnered significant Western press coverage, India has long lived under the threat of terrorism.

The Gujarati Association of Connecticut’s 14th annual Diwali show and celebration was held on on Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Career Magnet High School in New Haven, Conn. The auditorium was filled to capacity and more than 1,000 revelers joined together to enjoy the occasion.

The India Association of New Hampshire held its 2008 Diwali celebration on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Nashua High School North. More than 700 people attended the festival celebrating Indian tradition and culture.

Grace Fellowship Church in Nashua is like other nondenominational Christian churches, except that worshippers here cluster within three very different ethnic congregations.

Reporter Mark Connors recently asked people how they felt about the Indian government’s response to the Nov. 26-29 terrorist attacks in Mumbai: