Google and Bharti Foundation join hands to foster education in rural India

Google's grant to help upgrade and support schools run by Bharti Foundation

New Delhi, January 31, 2011: Google and Bharti Foundation - the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises, today jointly announced an initiative to support the Satya Bharti schools, run by the Bharti Foundation. As part of the agreement, Google will provide financial support of USD 5 million to upgrade and support 50 elementary schools run by the Bharti Foundation in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These schools will be named as Satya Elementary schools.

Bharti Foundation provides education to underprivileged children in rural areas. Its flagship initiative, the Satya Bharti School Program, reaches out to over 30,000 children, with particular focus on the girl child, from socially and economically challenged backgrounds. The Foundation offers them access to free education through 236 village primary schools and one senior secondary school. Going forward an additional 15 primary and 4 senior secondary schools are scheduled to be opened in the next academic year.

Google will provide financial support to set up middle schools (classes VI -VIII) as well as help meet operational expenses to upgrade primary schools to elementary level. Once completed, this initiative will help upgrade 50 primary schools to elementary levels and will reach over 15,000 children. In addition, at full capacity this will provide employment and skill training to over 500 teachers.

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director – Bharti Enterprises said, “Bharti Foundation has a vision of 'empowering rural India' through the educational initiatives of the Bharti Foundation. The financial support received from Google will further allow the Foundation to scale up the existing Satya Bharti School program from primary to elementary level and take education in rural India to the next level. We are confident that this partnership will help ready the underprivileged children of today as employable and responsible citizens of tomorrow.”

Nikesh Arora, Chief Business Officer, Google added, “Google is committed to doing good. We have a strong presence in India and have benefited from the enormous talent in engineering and science in this country. We are delighted to support Bharti Foundation's initiative to spread education and empower India's next generation.”

Google's grant to Bharti Foundation is part of its global philanthropic outreach. Google provided more than $145 million to non-profits and academic institutions in 2010, and more than $184 million in total giving when including Google Grants, Google.org technology projects and product support for non-profits.

Bharti Foundation was set up in 2000 as the philanthropic wing of Bharti Enterprises to bridge the existing education divide and make quality education accessible to underprivileged children across rural India. This is one of the largest social interventions

of its kind by an Indian business and is part of the groups' affirmative action to provide an equal opportunity committed to contribute to the government's agenda of inclusive growth.

Google has four centres in India: Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. India forms a key part of Google's strategy of operating as a globally integrated company.

About Bharti Foundation:
Bharti Enterprises set up Bharti Foundation in 2000 to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential. Bharti Foundation has been creating and supporting programs that bring about sustainable improvement in the field of education - both primary and higher education. The Foundation has adopted a two- pronged strategy to make a difference in the quality of elementary education in the country through its Satya Bharti School Program. In addition to the above two flagship programs Bharti Foundation has also partnered with premier institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2000 to set up the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management, IIT Delhi and IIT, Bombay to set up the Bharti Centre for Communication, Bombay. The Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship program has also been instituted to support academically brilliant students from financially weak backgrounds.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.