HYDERABAD: "We have close to 200 people over here as of now and by the end of 2005 we want the number to increase to 500. We would also be investing more than $ 100 million towards re-strengthening MIDC over the next three years and this would also include having multi-location development centers. As of now we are evaluating some options as when we grow we would need to have infrastructure in place," informed Bill Gates, Chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft. Addressing a press conference on the business side of Microsoft on the last day of his four-day visit to India, he said MIDC was launched in August 1998 and it plays a critical role in developing Microsoft’s .NET-based technologies. Asked to elaborate on Microsoft’s plans for MIDC, Gates said that the company would be working on cutting edge technologies such as Windows server technologies, Unix compatibility and interoperatibility. "We are going to have some long term projects being carved out of MIDC here and I am really proud of the team that we have over here, in fact 20 of the project heads over here have come from Redmond. So the environment and the opportunities in Hyderabad center are huge and they are going to be even bigger now," he explained. Besides the MIDC project, Microsoft would also be investing in skills development and the .NET readiness of its Indian partners to enable them to leverage "global opportunities around .NET". Microsoft would be working with its Indian partners to develop. NET-ready solutions and devise go-to-market strategies to offer these solutions in the global market. The company would also be providing an assistance of $one million for the Media Lab Asia project of the Center, besides extending $20 million for an e-learning initiative, ‘Project Shiksha’. Gates said, "‘Project Shiksha’ would help in accelerating the computer literacy in the country to 80,000 schoolteachers and 3.5 million students over the next five year." Microsoft has also announced for its participation with State education departments to set-up 10 Microsoft IT Academy Centers and collaborate with over 2,000 partner-driven school labs over the next five years. Gates also said that Microsoft would be launching a Hindi version of its Windows XP operating system and the forthcoming version of Microsoft Office, codenamed ‘Office 11". Elaborating on the reason to set up its development center in India Gates said that India has one of the highest number of skilled professionals when it comes to software development so it makes good sense to have a presence in this country. "We are here for the long run so even at a time when most of the global companies are cutting heavily on R&D efforts, we would continue to invest heavily to achieve a better tomorrow," he added.
Source: IANS