http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/427470.cms
The Economic Times Online
Why doesn't MS invest in Indian education?
ECONOMICTIMES.COM[ FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2004 04:53:12 PM ]
Microsoft on Thursday announced that it had donated more than $25
million in cash and software to promote IT education in more than 70
organisations in 45 countries. Though several countries in Asia were
found to be on the deserving candidates' list, India had no place on
it. ( Why doesn't Microsoft invest in Indian education? )
These grants, part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential initiative to
provide IT skills to low-income and underserved people, are part of
its larger plan to donate $1 billion in cash and software over the
next five years.
Low-income and underserved you said? But then organisations from
Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia are getting the
grant this year, but India it seems is not poor and underserved enough
to make the list.
So, why doesn't Microsoft want to invest in Indian education any more?
Could it be that we are already too tech-savvy for Uncle Sam's
comfort? After all, there is a hue and cry going on right this moment
in the US about the increasing number of IT jobs being offshored to
India.
Microsoft itself of course has been no stranger to India. Last year,
it announced plans to invest $100 million over the next five years to
double the number of Indian developers working on its technologies.
Currently, MS technologies constitute around 20-25 per cent of the
total $8 billion offshore work done from India.
In fact, the Microsoft move has fuelled the ongoing backlash against
outsourcing technology jobs to India and has led to an outcry by the
Seattle-based Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, which claims
that at least 800 jobs will be lost to India.
Though the latest Microsoft grant finds no mention of India, Bill
Gates had long back picked on India as a value centre and Microsoft
has also forged ties with Indian educational institutions to speed up
the adoption of its technology platforms, particularly its XML based
Web services based applications and other .NET technologies.
Why? Just a couple of days ago, Microsoft India signed an agreement
with the Andhra Pradesh government for a project to make 400,000
students and 200,000 teachers in the state IT-literate in the next
five years.
Earlier, it signed up with the Anna University in Chennai and the
Visveswaraiah University in Karnataka, as well as the Hyderabad-based
J N Technological University for the rollout of its Academic Developer
Programme in the 220 odd colleges affiliated to the latter.
Microsoft signed an MoU with the Uttaranchal government last year for
the roll-out of project 'Shiksha' for accelerating IT literacy in the
state. It has also promised to set up centres of excellence in places
like Jharkhand and Chandigarh and a R&D lab in Kurukshetra.
So, while Microsoft the company finds no problem in nurturing ties
with India as a potential client, as Uncle Sam's representative
perhaps it has to maintain a more prudent approach towards India. A
sign of the changing times?
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