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Brief
Gates comes calling
 Microsoft’s
Chairman and Chief Architect Bill Gates’ four-day visit to India was significant
in ways more than one. In addition to the $1.7 billion investment (See box:
Microsoft to invest $1.7 bn) commitment, the visit also generated its fair share
of excitement among the Indian companies and government bodies. Speaking at
the CII’s CEO Forum on ‘Realising India’s Potential,’ Gates
elaborated on the potential of ICT and its importance for the Indian economy
and the growth impediments in making India a truly empowered economy. He outlined
the vision for Microsoft in India and the areas in which the company would continue
to partner with the Indian government and the industry. Microsoft’s emphasis
is on four key areas for developing economies—Literacy, Productivity, Digital
Inclusion and Innovation.
“We are committed to consolidating our R&D centre
in Bangalore with a focus on low-cost computing,” he announced. The Microsoft
Research India (MSR), Bangalore, was established in January this year. He added,
“There is no dearth of opportunities in the Indian market for growth, what
is perhaps needed is the speed at which it can accelerate and meet the world
economy’s demands.”
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Microsoft to invest $ 1.7 bn in India
Microsoft will invest $1.7 billion in India over
the next four years. The money will be used to spread IT literacy, create
local language computing solutions and facilitate affordable access to
technology in rural areas. It will also be used to strengthen the local
knowledge economy and developing the Indian IT market. Investments in
skills transfer and joint go-to-market initiatives with ISVs are planned.
Microsoft will set up offices in 33 cities and add 700 retail outlets.
An Innovation Centre will be set up in Bangalore in January 2006. The
plan is to expand Indian operations into a major hub for Microsoft’s
research, product and applications development, services and technical
support worldwide.
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Commenting on the need to help the developers, he said, “Our
job in India is to make our best products available to the local developer community
and support it in terms of infrastructure and technology for the development
of local applications.”
Microsoft is also looking at building competencies among Indian SMBs. “The
SMBs in India have a big role to play in the economic development of India and
they are facing direct competition thanks to globalisation. We have collaborated
with NMCC (National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council) to create knowledge
networks for SMBs in various verticals across India,” said Gates.
—Kusum Makhija
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