NEW DELHI: Challenged by open source software platforms, Microsoft is pitching big to become the platform of choice for creators and developers in the country. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is on a one-day trip to India, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior cabinet ministers on Monday and discussed how Microsoft’s contribution to the Digital India initiative can be enhanced.
Hyderabad-born Nadella said that developers and entrepreneurs from the country are playing a key role in driving innovation — both inside and outside the country— and the company wants to be the platform for creators here.
“It’s not about celebrating our technologies, it is all about celebrating the technologies that you all in India create. In fact, I want us to be the platform for creators that foster the ingenuity of what is happening in India,” said Nadella.
Delivering the keynote address at the ‘Tech For Good, Ideas for India’ event, he assured Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha that Microsoft’s contribution to the government’s Digital India initiative can be enhanced with its platform.
Urging developers and creators in India to think big, Nadella quoted well-known Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib to drive home his point. “Hazaaron khwahishen aisi ho ke har khwahish pe dam nikle, bohat niklay mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle” (it is not just your dreams being fulfilled; it is your ability to dream things that are worth dying for).
MS push to Digital India plan
According to sources, the meeting revolved around open source policy, engagement of Microsoft for linking Skype and Aadhaar and enhanced cooperation for cloud services in the govt sector. Nadella’s visit comes close on the heels of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s four-day tour of India. Both Nadella and Cook have offered support to Digital India and Startup India.