Global software leader Microsoft Corporation has assured the Indian government of its commitment to supply 5,000 personal computers for a pilot education programme in 100 schools across six states, Union Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran said on Friday.
Inaugurating a new facility of Microsoft Research India in Bangalore, he said Microsoft chief Bill Gates, whom he had met recently, had also agreed to offer Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) towards the e-governance project, which the government hopes to begin soon to simplify, accelerate and aid the administrative process of the country through the use of Internet.
The Microsoft chief has also promised a team comprising the best of Indian diaspora to support the government's e-governance project, expected to get started soon. A Cabinet note will be prepared and taken up shortly, he said.
On the use of the bilingual window start-ups, Maran said that he had communicated to Gates the importance of bilingual window start-ups in the country, given the diversity of languages. He has agreed on eight Indian language start-ups, which was expected to be in place by January, next year, he added.
The availability of computers would greatly aid the teaching programmes in schools, Maran said, adding, "A simple anatomy lesson could now become more visual and more direct through use of computer instead of the old chalk and blackboard teaching."
Emphasising the need for window start-ups to be both in English and a local language, he said, "We cannot ignore English because we need to compete in English." He also said in many places the people from South India fared better than the rest largely due to their grasp of English.
Speaking on the occasion, Craig Mundie, chief technical officer and senior vice president for advanced strategies and policies, Microsoft Corporation, said the company was interested in tapping the vast Indian intellectual capital and people of Indian origin had contributed greatly to the company's development.
He said its initiatives in investing in R and D in India had also got the Indian diaspora back in the US interested in coming back to the country and working here.
He said the company was also interested in social initiatives and linking research in areas like health and education in a manner that could aid the society.
Minister for Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran (R) and the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Corporation Caig Mundie pose during an inauguration function for a Microsoft building, in Bangalore. Maran inaugurated Microsoft Research, which is the third basic research facility to be established outside the US, and was named Scientia (meaning knowledge in Latin).
Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty
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